In Deep
by Selena Snow
Summary: War is never the best place to confess your crush, but now that it's over, Lance just might have a chance...that is, if he can get up the courage to tell her. But then, where do they go from there? Pidge x Lance as they grow in their relationship together.
1. Telling Her

Lance wasn't sure when it happened…okay, well, obviously it was after the whole "I'm a girl" thing, but seriously, who saw _that_ one coming?

Before that, she was just, you know, Pidge. Pidge Gunderson. A total nerd, the person he went to for notes when he fell asleep in class, his snappy communications officer. And then she was a girl.

It wasn't like it changed _everything_. He still admired the things about her that he'd admired before, but now he just…it was different. And he couldn't figure out why.

When she'd make a sarcastic reply, he found himself stuttering, not joking back. When she offered to go out on mission, he found himself volunteering to go with her, not patting her on the back as she left.

At first he didn't know why it was happening, so he summed it up to protectiveness. After all, she was on his team, and all the Paladins had to look out for each other. But over time, he realized it was something else.

Maybe it started that time when he tried to stop Keith from blowing their cover. Her remark about how he was a "paragon of leadership" had struck him as exceptionally funny, but he also found that he didn't know what to say back.

Ooh, and then she was the one who found him and Hunk on that water planet with the mermaids. He'd never been so happy to see the green lion in his entire life!

And man, remember when they were fixing the ship, and she couldn't stop geeking out over the tech? It was so cute, and all he could do was tell her it wasn't a sunset. How stupid was that! But then they went to Olkarion, and she was just incredible! I mean, she turned a tree into a rolling-ball-tank-car-thingy. Who knew, right?

That wasn't all, though! There was the first time she seemed to actually care about him. Gosh, and he'd thought that holding scaltrite discs made his heart race— now he knew that hearing her voice telling him to hold tight did just the same.

Ugh and he didn't even want to think about what happened a week after that. Honestly, how desperate could he look wading through a fountain for coins like that? To be fair, it was worth it to see her face when they purchased the gaming system. Plus, they got a cow, and he got to ride on the cow with her behind him. Okay, he had to admit that was probably the best day of his life.

But then there was that mission on Beta Traz, which was a mixed bag because first she'd doubted that he was a good shot (therefore, he made sure that she and Shiro had a _perfect_ shot), but then after that she and him worked so well together? Maybe he was still trying to impress her, and that's why he didn't argue with a single thing she said, but he couldn't help but think they made a great pair.

After that, there was the whole Shiro-is-missing thing, and there were times when Lance thought he'd never manage a smile. Then there she was— leaning close to him at the dinner table and sharing his look of exasperation at Kolivan's "motivational" speech. He was just glad he'd held in his blush.

And then… _it_ happened. They were being hunted down by Lotor. Lance had never felt more scared in his life, but worse, he was scared for Pidge. There was a final attack, and boom— they were split up. He'd wanted to go ballistic, wanted to hunt Lotor down himself, wanted to search every single cavern until he knew she was safe again. They made it through the harrowing experience— joking about his intelligence toward the end, even— but something had changed.

Since then, he'd decided to keep his distance. It was better that way, or safer, at least. He wouldn't let his emotions get him off track, and therefore would be a better team member over all.

And yes, he still kept a special eye on her during missions. And yes, maybe he took it a bit too far when he thought he should leave the team altogether (of course, when this happened, Keith had to mention the _one person who could change his mind_ : Pidge). And yes, maybe he did go a little overboard with the razzle dazzle, but part of him just really wanted to impress her.

…yeah, he was in deep. So deep that he hadn't even told Hunk.

Why was he scared to admit it? It wasn't like Pidge wasn't worthy of admiration. She was super cool in a lot of ways, and he was sure it wouldn't be the first time some guy had a crush on her.

But still…it felt almost wrong in a way. She was her, and he was just… _him_. The wanna-be pilot who can barely keep up with everyone else, whether it's in intellect or out on the field.

He had no right to someone like her, yet…he really _really_ wished that he did.

So maybe this was his chance.

They were finally back home, and the war was finally over. Maybe now he could put aside this stagnant team bond, blast through the stiff wall he'd forcefully put up to keep himself focused on the mission at hand. Now, he could be honest with himself, with his feelings, with her.

Yup, tonight he would make the first move.

* * *

"NO!"

Now Shiro knew why Allura had called him into the room, then promptly left.

"Come on out, Katie, I'm sure it's not that bad."

"I look ridiculous!"

"I bet you don't."

"You haven't seen me yet."

Shiro sighed. "True. Just come out, and if it's really so bad, then I'll see if we can find you something else."

He heard some grumbling, along with the swishing of fabric against the floor.

"It really is necessary to make a good impression, Pidge," he said, tone pleading.

Her tone was stubborn. "But like, _why_? I'm a Paladin, not a princess."

His eyes rolled. "If you don't get out here in three seconds, I'm coming in."

That got her. There was a angry grunt, then the door opened.

It was moments like this that made Shiro realize how long they'd been at war. Four years ago, she was Pidge. Today, she was Katie Holt, an absolute vision in a long dark green gown and her hair braided back in some fancy style.

She saw Shiro's blank expression and sighed. "See, I told you it was awful."

Shiro blinked, then walked forward and wrapped her in a hug. She seemed startled, but soon returned the hug.

"You look great, Katie," Shiro whispered. "I know all this hasn't been easy, but…your dad would be so proud."

He heard her breath hitch, and he held her tighter. It had only been a few months since she and Matt discovered their father's grave on a random moon. He knew the pain was still there, but tonight, he was determined to make her forget all of that.

And he had just the man for the job.

* * *

"Is my bowtie straight?"

Lance turned around and tilted his head. "Meh, here, let me-" he said, immediately untying Hunk's bowtie and getting to work on fixing it.

Hunk stood as still as he could, occasionally glancing down at Lance in curiosity. "You're better at this than I thought you'd be."

"Little brothers," Lance said with a shrug. "Mama taught me how to do it so we could get everyone ready for church in time."

Hunk hummed, and Lance stepped back to take a final look. After he nodded, the two stepped out of his quarters. They walked through the hallway in sync.

"Guess this is it," Hunk finally said. "It's over. We all get to go home." He paused, then said, "…do you think we'll all stay friends?"

Lance looked up at Hunk and gave him a big smile. "Of course we will!" Lance said with a pat to Hunk's shoulder. "You, me, and Pidge will go back to the Garrison-"

"As if," Hunk snorted.

"-and Keith will get reinstated, even though he's crazy. And Shiro will be our professor! And we'll all graduate with honors, and then we'll get back to exploring the universe!" Lance sighed happily, sticking his hands in his pockets. "It all worked out after all."

"Looks like it," Hunk hummed as they approached the final door. "Which one of us goes out first again?"

"You, then me, then Keith, Shiro, and Pidge and Matt last," Lance recited. "Oh, and Allura and Coran after that."

"Wow, I've never heard you forget Allura before," Hunk teased.

Lance rolled his eyes. "Oh please, you know I've been over her for ages. Besides, I don't think she could handle someone like me."

"Lance, no one can handle you."

The boys turned to see Keith and Shiro approaching.

Lance stuck his tongue out. "Ha ha, very funny, Keith."

Hunk shrugged. "I thought it was."

There was a moment where a sentimental smile ran throughout the group— man, remember the days where he and Keith fought constantly?— and then Lance looked around.

"Wait…where's Pidge?"

Shiro's nose scrunched up. "She, uh…well-"

"Shiro made her cry," Keith stated bluntly.

"I did not!" Shiro claimed, before immediately adding on, "Okay, well, I might have. Allura sent me in because Pidge hated her dress, and she couldn't get her out of the bathroom, so I got her to come out, and then I might have mentioned her dad-"

Lance groaned. "Seriously? Why the quiznak would you do that?"

"Because she looked nice, and I thought her father would've said so," Shiro said defensively. "Anyways, she and Allura are fixing her makeup, but I wanted to talk with you guys. She's been through a lot lately, and I want this to be a night for her to feel special, okay?"

Suddenly Lance felt super self conscious. Was it just him, or did Shiro's eyes stare into his soul when he said that? I mean, sure, Shiro said it to the whole group, but there was something about the way he looked directly at Lance at the end that really set the Cuban boy on edge. Did Shiro know about his crush or was he silently asking him not to screw up?

Probably both, to be honest.

Everyone nodded, then turned to form a line. There was silence, and Lance fidgeted. He never did like the silence. It was tense, unforgiving, uncomfortable, and awkward. He didn't know what to do with silence. But then— _thankfully_ — the silence was broken. And by none other than her.

First it was one footstep, then another. It wasn't like her usual ones. He always knew her usual ones— the sound of her old rubber soles hitting the sleek alien floors. High heels are different, though. It was a lighter sound, but one thing remained constant— the rhythm. Even, steady, and fast. Determined, even a little bit angry, he realized with a chuckle.

He turned to see if he was right—

and he froze.

* * *

In hindsight, it should've been obvious. Hunk and Keith didn't even see him step forward, but there Lance was— standing in front of Pidge and kissing her hand.

"You look beautiful," he said, his voice as light as ever, but there was something else to it as well. An overwhelming sense of genuineness. Lance telling girls that they were pretty was as common as the sun setting, but this was different.

Hunk and Keith's eyes met, a silent acknowledgement of this fact. Matt, who had been walking with her, raised an eyebrow. Shiro just smiled.

This would be an interesting night.

* * *

The crowd was cheering, applauding, standing— all the stuff that the Paladins were pretty used to at this point, if they were being honest. It wasn't like they really wanted all the attention anyways. They did what they had to do, and knowing that the universe was safe was enough for them.

Lance put on his usual charming smile and waved, glancing down the line to see if everyone else was doing the same. Hunk sure was, and so was Shiro. Keith, well, what could you expect from that guy? He was smiling a little bit, at least. Then there was Pidge, who wasn't smiling hardly at all, he noted worriedly. Her eyes seemed hollow, and he detected some of the leftover sadness he'd seen earlier. He'd gotten it to go away for a little bit— telling her she looked beautiful had done the trick, and either way, it was the truth.

He had to get her to smile again, he determined. And what better way than a dance?

The Paladins stepped off the stage in cue, and the band started up playing. His heart was racing, and he really wished he had more confidence right now, but that wasn't likely.

Swallowing hard, he walked over to where Pidge was chatting with Allura and cleared his throat.

"Ehem," he said loudly. Their eyes turned to him, and he bowed his head dramatically to hide his blush. "Might I get the first dance, Lady Holt?"

He could almost see her roll her eyes when she mumbled, "Yup, he's still crazy," to Allura. The girls shared a laugh, and he nearly fainted. Wait, had they been talking about him before he walked up?

He didn't have time to think about it for long, though, because Pidge was placing her hand in his and giving him a smile. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Lance grinned. Katie's enthusiasm had always been infectious, and he'd honestly missed it. Remind me why he'd been keeping his distance?

He led her over to the dance floor, making sure to give her a little twirl before they settled into a classic waltz position.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're…actually good at this," she commented.

He chuckled at the surprise in her voice. "Of course I am! I'm the whole package: looks, talent-"

"Brains?" she queried mischievously.

Lance pouted. "Hey!"

"Just kidding," she laughed. "You're plenty smart, just not smarter than me."

"Well we all knew that," he winked, sparking another laugh from her.

This was what he wanted. Just him and her, in each other's arms, laughing all their cares away. But he'd only get there if he said something, he realized with a gulp. He needed to do it, and soon before he lost his chance.

But it had to be something good, something really smooth, something that she would never forget—

"You know, Pidge, you really aren't that bad."

Quiznak, _that_ was his opening line?!

She was looking at him expectantly now. "Aaaaaaand?"

Was it hot in here? He felt like he was going to melt into a puddle of sweat.

"And you know," he trailed off awkwardly. "I like you."

She quirked an eyebrow and flashed a joking smile. "Oh really?"

He swallowed. "Yes, really, I do— I mean, I do, um, l-like you. A lot, actually. You're, um…very pretty, and well, that's not all, obviously- you're cool, too, and smart! And uh, funny and stuff."

"Oh."

There it was: awkward silence. The kind that he hated the most.

Lance tried to put on a lighthearted smile, but he knew his nerves made it look tense. "Is that a good oh or a bad oh?"

"It's an I-didn't-expect-this oh," she said slowly. "How…how long?"

He tilted his head to the side as though he was thinking. "A while," he shrugged.

She gave him a stern look, and he sighed.

"A few years," he mumbled.

His heart was beating out of his chest, and he didn't know if he could take this much longer. He'd rather her just reject him already so he could move on. He was regretting this, all of it— asking her to dance, getting up the courage to tell her his feelings, thinking that he could possibly wind up with someone like—

"Okay."

He blinked. "…okay?"

She smiled at him, and his heart nearly stopped. "Okay," she confirmed. "I had no idea you felt that way, so, you know…give me a bit of time to let it sink in," she laughed. He couldn't help but chuckle bashfully with her.

Pidge's eyes softened, and she gave him a look that he could only classify as curiosity. "I've always thought highly of you, Lance, even though sometimes I acted like I didn't. So…" she trailed off, her hand reaching up and tucking a stray hair behind his ear familiarly. Quiznak, he forgot how much he used to love it when she did that. He leaned into the touch, but then her hand was gone, returned to his shoulder.

"All that being said, I'd be more than happy to give it a shot."

Lance's eyes widened. "Y-You would? I-I mean, you will? Really? Seriously?"

She laughed. The sound had him unwittingly tightening his grip on her. "Only if you think you can actually handle me."

There was challenge in her voice— he heard it clear as day. He smirked and pulled her close, pleased when Pidge blushed furiously.

"I think I know how you tick by now," he teased, their noses almost touching. "So I don't think that'll be a problem."

She visibly swallowed, then looked away. "Whatever," she mumbled. "Just don't take me on a walk through the park for our first date. My allergies won't be able to take it."

Eyes bright, Lance spun Pidge around to rest her back against his chest. He held her close, cherishing the feeling of _finally_ having her in his arms for longer than a tick. "Don't worry, I was thinking along the lines of dinner and a movie. It's been ages since I've been to a theater, and I hear there's this really cool musical out right now-"

* * *

Pidge knew she should've been paying attention to what Lance was saying, but honestly, she couldn't. First, there was his voice. It was soothing and weirdly exciting at the same time. And his arms were around her, and they were swaying back and forth in time to the music. Then there was the music itself— it too was very nice, but a little busy. It was all getting to be too much.

'Okay,' she told herself. 'Breath. Think. Take in the elements. What is going on?'

Well, first of all, there was the bombshell that Lance has apparently had a crush on her for several years— and done a good job at hiding it, she realized. She didn't know if she should be impressed or distressed. Had she been hurting him this whole time? Why hadn't she noticed?

That was the real question, wasn't it? How had she been so blind? Her, the girl who prided herself on always taking note of everything. How had she missed it? Were there obvious signs? Did anyone else know?

He was spinning her back around now, and their eyes locked.

HIs eyes were blue, she realized suddenly. Blue like the ocean at a depth of 3000 feet. And they were kind, too. She'd seen that kindness before, that concern he often had for everyone and their safety, but now…it seemed so warm. Understanding. Accepting.

It struck her in that moment that this boy— this _man_ — in front of her knew everything there was to know about her. He'd seen her at her very best and her very worst. And even with all of that data…

Her eyes widened.

…he still chose to like her. For _years_.

She blinked again, feeling her mind start to spiral out of control again, because now what? What did they do? She's agreed to give this a chance, but what if it didn't work out and what if it was awkward and they weren't friends anymore but oh quiznak they'd still have to work together and that would be impossible and-

"-idge? Pidge? Pi-"

This couldn't work, she realized. She couldn't endanger their friendship or the team like this. She had to put an end to this, right now, before she screwed everything up and-

"Katie!"

Oh. Lance looked worried— really worried. And his eyes were close to her own eye level now. She idly wondered when that had happened, when she'd gotten taller and was no longer his arm rest.

"Are you okay?" he was saying. "You weren't responding. What do you need?"

She almost wanted to burst into tears. What did she need? Quiznak, that was a loaded question. She needed therapy from being in a teenager in a war for four years. But for now, she searched the ballroom until she found what she was looking for.

"There," she nodded.

Lance turned and saw the door she referred to. "A little fresh air for milady? Of course." He transitioned their position so that their arms looped together, leading them through the crowd to the cool outdoors.

The second they stepped outside, Pidge felt at ease. That ballroom had been filled with way too much stimuli, and that was not what she needed right now. Speaking of right now, Lance's arm felt warm against hers, and she kind of wanted to lean into it.

Instead, she unhooked her arm and made her way over to the half stone wall of the balcony, pushing herself up to sit on top of it. Lance followed, but stayed at a distance. Knowing each other for a long time has its perks, she realized. He knew how to handle her when she got into a mood like this.

Pidge took in a deep breath, then let it out. The stars— they would distract her. She could pick out constellations until she calmed down. With that goal in mind, she gazed upwards towards the heavens, but even then all she could think about was the fact that her dad's body lay up there somewhere in the dusty ground of a moon.

He must have seen the faraway look in her eyes, because Lance was taking a step forward.

"What is it, Pidge?" he asked softly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong per-say," she replied immediately, then regretted the way her voice sounded so automated. Pidge sighed and wrapped her arms around herself. "It's just— there's a lot to take in right now," she muttered.

He stepped closer. "Like what?" She gave him a half annoyed look, and he said, "I know, I know you have a lot going on recently, but-" Quiznak, he was closer now, and the blue in his eyes was shining in the moonlight.

"I want to hear it from you," he said. "I don't want to assume I know what's going through your head."

She nodded before she realized she'd done it. "Well…I miss my dad," she admitted. "And I always thought that when I came back home to Earth, it'd be with him."

Sympathy filled his eyes, and she looked away. She hated sympathy for some weird reason. It made her feel weak, like others thought she couldn't handle what was happening. Almost like—

Oh. One of Lance's hands was on the bottom of her chin, gently pulling her back toward him.

His eyes were entirely serious, but his voice was kind. "I can't imagine what that feels like," he confessed. "And I'm sure it'll take a long time before you can move on, but…something tells me that isn't all that's bothering you."

Pidge looked down, and she heard a sigh.

"It's me, isn't it?"

Her head snapped up at his defeated voice. His hand had fallen away from her face, and she had to stop herself from taking it back.

But he kept going. "I should've waited until a better time to tell you. I don't want to make things complicated, Pidge. If you want, we can act like this never happened."

She couldn't stand it anymore. She grabbed both of his hands, squeezing them as she met his sad ocean eyes with her wide honey ones.

"No, Lance, that's- it's not, you-," she stuttered. "I-I mean, yes, this isn't the most opportune time in the world, because we just arrived back home after fighting in a war for way too long, and the prospect does frighten me because I don't want to mess up because I care about you a lot, and I-" Pidge stopped herself suddenly.

Her voice was caught in her throat, but she swallowed and managed to say, "I don't want to lose you."

Lance's eyes were soft. His hands left hers to cup her face. "You could never lose me, Katie, I promise you."

Warmth spread through her, and she felt— for the first time in a long time— at peace. All of the pain from the past few years melted away instantly. There was no stress, no hurt, no panic, no fear. It was just her and him.

She smiled. Maybe this could work out after all.

"Thank you, Lance."

"Anything for you."

She had the feeling he meant that with his whole heart.

* * *

 **Hello! This story came to me rather randomly, and I might have a few more chapters afterward just for fun. Feel free to let me know if you have any ideas!**


	2. Sinking In

"So…how about we get back inside? Only, uh, if you want to, though."

Pidge looked at him, and for the millionth time since they'd come out onto this balcony thirty minutes ago, she wondered how she'd missed it for so long. I mean, this was Lance— being shy? It was so obvious now.

…and it was pretty cute, too.

It was like her whole view of him had changed. Sure, he was still Lance, Mr. Sharpshooter, the jokester, and one of her closest friends. But now, all of the things she hadn't noticed before were suddenly in plain view right in front of her.

His eyes were the first thing she took note of. They were always kind looking at her. His voice was next— there was never a touch of anger to be found, just gentle and soft. Then, his touch. It should've been a dead giveaway before, because he was constantly there, whether he was playing with her fingers while he chatted away or reaching out and tapping one of her curly ends. It was almost like…like he felt reassured by having her there.

And suddenly, she found herself realizing the same thing about him. Whether it was her playful slaps on his shoulder or fixing his messy hair, having him nearby was as natural as breathing.

Pidge smiled at him, hopping off the stone wall and looping her arm through his. "Let's go!"

He was blushing a bit, and his smile was so bashful, so sweet. Pidge felt like either slapping herself or sighing happily. Was this what it felt like to be loved?

Lance was leading her back through the door now, and he leaned down close to her ear. "How much you wanna bet Keith already bailed?"

"And that Hunk is over by the food?" she added on. She glanced around conspiratorially. "The probability is high, but an absolute answer requires surveillance."

He snickered. "You go left, I go right?"

Suddenly feeling a bit bold (and maybe just wanting to see if she could make Lance blush again), she shook her head and started pulling him in the direction of the dance floor. "Nah, we can do that later. The floor is clear now, and I like the sound of this song."

At that, Lance's ears seemed to perk up, and he looked skyward as he focused on the melody. "Hm…Fly Me to the Moon, Kummer rendition? A bit cheesy for a space explorer," he teased.

Pidge couldn't help the surprise in her eyes. "How'd you know?" she asked.

He pulled her into their position from earlier, but this time, just a bit closer. "You forget how much I steal your headphones."

She contemplated it, then shrugged. "I kinda forgot you did that. You still need them to sleep?" The question was deeper than it seemed— she'd known about his nightmares for years now, especially since he'd come knocking at her door at 2am more than a few times.

Lance nodded, his eyes silently acknowledging her question. "I…" he trailed off. "I have the feeling I'll need them for a while longer," he admitted.

Frowning, she reached up and pushed some of his hair out of his eyes. "Take them as long as you need," she murmured. "Heck, take them home with you. I have earbuds at my house…or at least, I guess they're still where I left them."

Silence fell over the pair as they thought about what she'd just said. They were finally back home, and they knew that after tonight, they'd inevitably be separated for two weeks. He was going to Florida tomorrow night to visit his family, and she'd be flying back to Wisconsin with Matt early the next day.

It was awful timing, and Pidge couldn't help but wonder where it would leave them. "Seeing" each other or not, she would still miss him a lot. It was hard to imagine not seeing Lance every day. Maybe Lance was thinking the same thing, because he was looking down at her with wistful eyes.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner," he apologized sincerely. "Now it'll feel like forever until we see each other again."

She gave him a semisweet smile. "I don't know what I'll do without you," she told him honestly.

"I don't know either," he replied. "W-Without you, I mean."

Pidge laughed out loud, and he gave her a twirl, chuckling. "Quiznak, I need to learn how to speak around you."

"Speaking isn't the only form of communication, you know," she pointed out.

Suddenly, he was pulling her close, a dangerous twinkle in his eyes. "Oh? So what other… _communication_ methods should I use?"

She knew he was joking around. She knew that he was being flirty just to get a reaction. She knew that his glance at her lips was overdramatic on purpose. But at the same time…

Katie's mouth felt dry, and there was this weird tugging sensation pulling her toward him. "U-Um, whatever you want to."

* * *

Lance blinked. Had he taken it too far? He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable, he just couldn't resist making the joke.

He followed his gut, tangling a hand in her hair and gently setting his forehead against hers.

"We'll take things slow, don't worry," he whispered.

"Of course," she replied, and he couldn't help but notice how out of breath she sounded. Was the dancing too much? Maybe she needed to rest, get some punch, or whatever it was they had at this fancy party.

But then she was breaking out of her daze, shaking her head in a way that made her braid fly around a bit. "Sorry, you just- you keep catching me off guard," she said with a laugh. "This is all so new, I never thought I'd be, well…in something like this."

He nodded, understanding what she was saying, but not quite _getting_ it. How could she have never imagined herself in a relationship? She was deserving of all the love in the entire universe and more. Surely she thought she was worth all of that, right?

But he couldn't pour all those thoughts out to her, not just yet. That'd probably overwhelm her even more. Instead, he settled for saying, "Let me know if I'm being too much, okay?"

She snorted, taking her hand off his shoulder to cover her mouth. Without thinking, he grabbed her hand, allowing her beautiful smile to be shown. Again, she looked surprised at first, but then she just rolled her eyes and smiled.

"You're always too much, Lance," she teased. "That's why I like you."

His heart skipped a beat, and he smirked. "Why you _like_ me?"

Pidge's cheeks were turning red, and she turned her head. "Oh please, you know that I at least like you as a person. Don't push you luck, tailor."

Lance laughed. "Yes, _señorita_." She smiled up at him, and he gave in to the temptation he'd been fighting. He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin and sighing happily. He rocked them slowly back and forth, relishing in the fact that Katie nuzzled her cheek into his chest before she settled into him.

He wanted to laugh, cry, high five someone, who knows! It was all so amazing, so much better than he'd imagined each night before falling asleep. It was like the sky had opened up, and the forecast said sunny days would never end! He threaded his fingers through her hair, even though he knew she might get annoyed that he was messing up her pretty braid. He'd just smile if she did, and maybe even go in for a—

'No,' he told himself. 'We're going to take this slowly.'

But quiznak, that was going to be _hard_. All he wanted to do was steal her away and kiss her under the stars. It'd be perfect, just like he'd always hoped for. But he didn't want to rush her, didn't want to pressure her and make things uncomfortable. No, whatever pace they'd go at, he'd always be content just holding her in his arms.

Then suddenly, his day dreams came to a halt. He felt a stare on the back of his neck. Lance subtly guided his and Pidge's slow rocking around, and he felt himself get nervous all over again.

Matt was staring him down, somehow managing to glare at Lance while leading Allura in a steady waltz at the same time. His eyes said it all. Hurt her, and I'll hurt you.

Lance understood immediately. He'd hurt anyone who dared to break one of his little sisters' hearts, too. He nodded seriously, and Matt nodded back, seemingly content with his response.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lance brought his focus back to the young woman in his arms. He'd sensed some tiredness in her voice earlier, and now as he looked down at her, he could see that her shoulders were drooping. There was a soft sigh, and he knew that she was falling asleep against him.

He nudged her gently. "You ready to get going?" he murmured.

She looked up at him and nodded sleepily. "We need to tell Shiro," she mumbled.

He nodded in agreement, his eyes looking up to scan the room. He located Shiro quickly, over near the stage talking with a group of important looking people. Lance looked back down at his girl— _his girl_ , wow, what a thought— and smiled. "Come on, let's go say goodnight."

"Mkay."

They walked slowly, Lance deliberately making his strides shorter to accommodate for her. Pidge stumbled slightly at one point, and immediately, he put one arm around her shoulders and took her hand with his free one. They were getting closer now, and Shiro had glanced over in acknowledgment.

Once they were near the group, Lance cleared his throat. All eyes turned to him, and he found himself straightening up.

"Pidge and I are gonna head on back," he told Shiro, whose eyes immediately looked at the girl in question.

He came forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Katie?"

She sniffed, blinking her eyes up at their leader and giving him a half-glare. "Yes, dad, I'm just tired."

Shiro chuckled. "Okay. Make sure she doesn't change her mind and stay up all night, Lance."

Lance saluted. "Yes, sir!" His eyes left Shiro's and went to Pidge's, immediately going soft. "Come on, let's get you to bed," he whispered.

"Don't tell me what to do," she grumbled, her voice lacking any actual anger.

Laughing to himself, Lance just nodded and guided her toward the door. She shifted and grabbed onto his arm tightly. Lance smiled, his heart feeling like it could burst with joy any second now. He held her close to his side. He contemplated just picking her up and carrying her, but knowing Pidge, she'd never stand for that. Then again, she'd always been fine with piggyback rides…he'd have to try carrying her sometime just for fun.

It wasn't too long before they were in the ship, and Lance had to admit, it was nice to be back onboard. He'd gotten so used to it over the past few years, to the point where leaving it had felt entirely foreign. They walked through the halls on a familiar route toward their rooms, both of them wrapped up in their separate thoughts.

When they reached her door, Lance didn't hesitate on pushing the button and walking in. He lead her over to the bathroom, then went over to where he knew she kept her pajamas. He came back with the bundle of green and black, and she was right where he left her.

Chuckling softly, he nudged her into the bathroom. "Come on, get ready for bed. I'll wait out here."

Pidge didn't even protest— she just took the pajamas and shut the door behind her. Lance sighed deeply, falling back on her bed and closing his eyes. What a night this had turned out to be. He still couldn't believe any of it had worked out. Telling her his feelings was a feat in itself, and now he was tucking her in bed?

Okay, well that wasn't exactly new. He'd found her asleep next to Green more than a dozen times. But still, this felt strangely different…exciting, but also a huge honor.

Lance was buzzing with excitement, and he wondered if he'd be able to sleep tonight.

No, was the apparent answer, especially when Pidge exited the bathroom a few seconds later. She was dressed in a baggy green shirt and a random pair of black shorts. Her hair was out of its braid and back to its usual slightly messy state. Lance couldn't help the smile that formed on his face.

He got up from her bed and crossed over to her in three giant steps. She looked up at him expectantly, and he tilted his head. "What?"

"Where's my kiss goodnight?" she asked, and he stuttered. She laughed, reaching up and hugging him tightly around his neck. "Just messin' with you."

Lance wished he could stop blushing, but he just laughed and held her as firmly as he could. He opened his mouth— the words _"I love you"_ were so close to coming out— but he held it in.

Instead, he settled for ruffling her hair and saying, "What have I gotten myself into?"

"Mmm, who knows," she hummed lightly. They released each other, and Lance swallowed. Just looking at her, he knew he wanted to stay, to keep talking through the night, something. Their time together was already so short, and he didn't want to think about leaving her tomorrow. This was the last time he'd get to put her to sleep for a while.

Lance couldn't resist it anymore. He placed his hands on the sides of her face, then leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well," he whispered against her skin.

He looked down, expecting to see that surprised look he'd kept causing, but instead, she was smiling up at him. It was a big, bright smile, too— his favorite kind of hers.

"Goodnight, Lance," she replied, and he knew that it already was.


	3. Figuring It Out

He kept telling himself he wasn't nervous. No, it totally wasn't that. He just felt jittery because he was…excited! Yeah, that was it. His heart was racing and his palms were sweaty and his head felt dizzy from…excitement.

Yeah, Lance knew that wasn't the case. For some reason, he was beyond anxious this morning. And he knew why— it was Pidge. Well, not really _her_ , but this new thing that they were in. He wanted this to work more than anything he'd ever wanted before, and the thought that it could crash and burn terrified him.

But, he couldn't stay in his room forever, and besides, he wanted to see if she was feeling better from last night.

Lance gave his reflection a determined look, nodded, then turned on his heel and walked out the door. One step, then another. What would they be like this morning? He shook his head. Another step forward. What if it was awkward? What if she didn't even look at him? A frustrated growl. Two faster steps.

What if…what if she'd already gone home without a goodbye?

Panic was seizing him now, and he was practically running to get to the kitchen. When he reached the door, he screeched to a halt. What if she wasn't there? Would his heart be able to take it? Quiznak, what if she was there? What did he say? How did he act? He hadn't told anyone else what had happened between him and Pidge last night. Did she? Should they keep it a secret for a while?

He felt like he could hardly _breathe_ , let alone think rationally. Lance took in a deep breath to steady himself. He could do this. He was Lance McClain, the guy who could flirt with a brick wall. Why was he getting so worked up over talking to a girl?

…you know what, don't answer that. He already knew why.

Swallowing hard, he reached a shaky hand forward and pushed the button for the door to open. It felt like everything slowed down to half time. The doors parted, and his eyes scanned the room— Hunk waved, Shiro and Keith glanced toward him, Matt nodded, Allura smiled, Coran gave a mock salute, and—

She was there, he realized with a sigh of relief. Even better, the chair next to her was free. She was working on something in front of her, an adorably determined look on her face. But then she blinked, looked up, and raised an eyebrow.

"You just gonna stand there?"

All of his nerves began to melt away at the sound of her voice. Lance smirked, walking forward and plopping down in the chair next to her.

"Just wanted you guys to have a great view to start off your day," he said with a wink.

Pidge snorted. "It's a shame I didn't run into you before Shiro gave me this paperwork- it's not what I wanted to see first thing this morning."

Lance shifted closer, looking over her shoulder at the papers she referred to. "What's that for?"

"Matt," she sighed with a slouch. Her eyes glared over at her brother. " _Someone_ was presumed dead for several years."

Matt gave her a nervous smile. "Really, sis, I gotta hand it to you, you're so much better at understanding all that government mumbo-jumbo than I am-"

"Shut it," she snapped, though it lacked bite. "You're just lazy and didn't want to do it."

Lance cut in before an argument could get started. "Need any help with it?"

Pidge's eyes widened a bit, and she nodded quickly. " _Please_ , I hate this sort of thing."

Chuckling, Lance scooted his chair nearer to hers. He stared down at the jargon filled papers, occasionally munching on the breakfast that had been waiting for him. "Mmm, you missed a section-" he pointed out, and Pidge peered down at the where his finger was resting. "You need another signature on that dotted line, plus his social security number."

"Ugh," she groaned before calling out, "Matt, what's your social security number?"

Matt scrunched his nose. "Crap…I think it was 756-43-967?"

Pidge shrugged. "Let's hope so."

For the next few minutes, the pattern continued. Lance would scan through the papers, occasionally showing her if she missed a spot. After the last page had been turned, Lance settled back into his chair, not thinking twice when he reached for her hand resting in her lap.

They froze at the exact same time. Had he really just done that? With everyone around?

Shockingly, Pidge recovered first, threading their fingers together under the table and turning to ask Matt another question. As for Lance, it was probably a solid thirty seconds before he managed to comprehend what just happened. But when he did, a warm feeling spread through him, and he squeezed her hand.

He felt giddy now, like a kid in a candy store. Oh man, maybe he was already on the sugar high! He rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand, marveling not only at how smooth it felt, but how tiny and delicate her hand felt in his. _Quiznak_ , he was growing wings this second, getting ready to soar up into cloud nine with—

"So Lance, when's the flight tonight?"

He blinked. "What? Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh, that. Yeah, my flight leaves at five. We couldn't find anything earlier, and I needed time to pack, anyways."

Keith was giving him a dubious look. "What is there to pack? All you wear is that one baseball t-shirt-"

"Hey, that thing is the softest shirt in the world!" Lance shot back. "And I don't see what your point is, Mr. Tiny-Red-Jacket."

An eye roll, then Keith crossed his arms. "At least I wash it on a regular basis."

Lance opened his mouth to retort, but there was a squeeze. He turned his attention to Pidge, and she was giving him a look that read this-is-not-what-I-need-right-now. He understood immediately, saying a quick "whatever" before he tucked back into his breakfast.

There was a brief silence, as if people couldn't believe that Lance hadn't taken the chance to make a witty comeback, but conversation picked up again.

"Pidge, what about your flight?" Shiro asked.

"Seven am tomorrow morning," she told him, annoyance clear in her tone. "We had the opposite problem of Lance."

Shiro nodded. "Got it. Hunk?"

"Tonight at six," Hunk replied. "I figured I could tag along with Lance until we have to split for our gates."

"Sounds like a plan," Shiro said. "That means Keith and I will be leaving last, tomorrow at noon. I know we're all excited to be back home-"

Pidge ran her thumb across Lance's hand. His heart beat faltered.

"-but try to stay focused, okay? We'll meet back at the Castle of Lions after two weeks, then start our final sweep of the universe."

Keith groaned. "Please tell me there will be no Voltron shows? If there are, Allura can have my part again."

Pidge snickered, "Yeah, same goes for me. I don't think I want to watch Lover Boy Lance do that ribbon routine one more time."

Lance's jaw dropped. "My razzle dazzle was perfection!" he protested.

"Perfection may not be the word I'd use," Hunk joked.

"How about, hmm…dramatic?" Allura offered.

"Overdramatic was what I was looking for!" Coran claimed.

Pidge smiled up at Lance, "Then he definitely delivered."

Shiro chuckled. "No, no shows this time- just checking up on the coalition planets and making sure everything is going okay. It shouldn't take longer than a month or two."

Hunk tilted his head. "And then what?"

Silence sounded throughout the room. They all stared at each other, then down at the table. What would come next? This had been their lives for what felt like forever…what would happen now?

"I don't see why everyone's getting so mopey all of the sudden," Pidge said. Lance looked up, and she had determination written all over her face.

"I mean, we fought for _years_ to get back home, and now you guys are acting like you don't want to be here! Don't you see? Mission accomplished! We can go home! We _saved_ the whole universe! I think we deserve to be able to live normal lives now."

Shiro smiled at her. "No one is disagreeing with you, Pidge. Some people just take longer to adjust back."

She looked around at the table, then lowered her head. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I've just been waiting for this day for a long time."

Lance squeezed her hand, and she looked up. "Me too."

Hunk was smiling now. "Same here! It's been ages since I've seen my parents."

"I've missed the sunrises in Arizona," Keith reminisced.

"And we've been invited to visit your present-dent!" Coran added enthusiastically.

Pidge smiled shyly, and Lance couldn't help but give her hand another squeeze.

* * *

She'd never realized how much stuff she had before now. She guessed that's what happens when you just throw stuff everywhere, and now all of the sudden you have to pack things all neat into boxes. Pidge had been in her room for several hours now, and while she wanted to be focused on getting ready to go home, her mind kept drifting back to this morning.

Holding hands with Lance for an extended period of time had been…nice. Really nice, actually. And she couldn't figure out why. Pidge knew that human touch was often considered comforting to most people, but she usually wasn't one of those people. She'd never been called a "hugger." But here she was, contemplating the fact that she was sure her serotonin levels had gone up just sitting there, holding his hand.

It set her at ease, yet it was exciting at the same time. Grounded her, then made her feel like she was floating. All of these sensations were so new, and she had no comparative data to study.

Whatever had gone on, though, she was sure that she liked it. And now, standing all alone in her bedroom, she missed it. The moment their hands had disconnected when Lance left to start packing, her heart dropped a bit. Now, she was wading through this weird sea of feelings, not knowing what to do with them. Part of her wanted to walk down the hall to knock on his door, but she didn't have a good reason to.

Pidge let out a frustrated groan and fell back on her bed. What was she supposed to do in this…thing? She wasn't a girly girl. She wasn't going to flutter her eyelashes and giggle and dress up for dates and stuff…but she couldn't deny the fact that Lance's affections for her did give her butterflies in her stomach.

She let out a sigh. Surely there was some reason she could find to visit him, right? But did she even need a reason? Maybe that's what being in a…whatever-this-was meant. They could be with each other just because they felt like it. There didn't have to be a specific purpose to it.

Huh, that was a nice thought.

Springing up from her bed, Pidge grabbed her favorite hoodie and tossed it on as she left the room. The walk to Lance's door wasn't long, but it sure felt like it. When she arrived, she steeled her nerves and walked right in—

…wait, what?

The room was completely empty. She raised an eyebrow, looking around the room as though he would pop out of some random corner. She even poked her head in the bathroom, but that too was empty. Where was he?

Pidge frowned, suddenly feeling a lot more sad than she expected she would. She plopped down on the ground, resting her chin on her fists as she sat with her legs criss-crossed. Okay, so maybe he hadn't left yet. Maybe he was elsewhere on the ship. And anyways, that would be weird of Lance to leave without saying something.

She let out a sigh and fell back onto the floor. Lance was consuming all of her thoughts right now, and it was entirely frustrating because she didn't know how to handle it. What did she do? Go scour the entire ship for him? The thought alone was embarrassing. She'd seen him just a few hours ago- why was she in such a rush to see him again? It was almost like-

 _Swish._

"Pidge?"

"Ah!" she screamed, scrambling to turn around.

There he was, standing in the doorway with his head tilted. "What are you doing on my floor?"

"I-I, well, I was just, ah-" she stammered. "I was, um, looking for you. You know, to say goodbye before you left."

Lance raised an eyebrow and held out a hand. "Guess Shiro told you?"

She accepted the hand up and gave him a confused look. "Told me what?"

"My flight got cancelled, so they found me another one with a layover in Atlanta," Lance sighed. "I have to leave in ten minutes."

Pidge swallowed. "Oh."

"Yeah…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head. "Just finished loading up my stuff, and I came back to find you."

She stared down at her shoes. "I, uh…I'm not- I don't," she sighed, wringing her hands restlessly. "I don't like goodbyes. They suck. And I know this morning I was excited to go home, but now I don't…I'm just not sure-"

He came forward and wrapped her in a hug. The tension in her shoulders left immediately, and she held onto him as tight as she could.

A few moments passed, and she heard him sigh. "I know how you feel. It's a dream come true, but it's hard to believe it's actually happening." She nodded her head against his chest, and one of his hands left her back to play with her hair. Pidge felt her heart ache. She didn't want to leave this, not for a second. It was all so new and unexpected and honestly really nice and the thought of not getting to keep discovering things didn't settle well with her.

Lance gave her one final squeeze, then released her so he could look into her eyes. "I'm gonna miss you," he told her, eyes sad, but then they brightened. "It's just two weeks. We can get through that, right?"

She found herself smirking. "I don't know, two weeks is a long time-"

Lance laughed and pulled her into him again. "Oh hush," he chuckled. "Admit it— you're gonna miss me too."

"I think I already do," she mumbled into his shirt. He stiffened against her, and she ran a hand up and down his spine. He relaxed, then tightened his grip on her, and she did the same to him.

They could've stayed there forever, but a knock at the door brought them back to reality.

"Lance, you ready?" Shiro called through the door.

"Be there in a minute!" Lance replied. They listened as Shiro's footsteps became distant, then their eyes turned back to each other.

Pidge gave him a little smile. "Guess we should head out?"

Lance returned the smile, gesturing dramatically to the door. "After you, milady."

She laughed, and then, without thinking, leaned up on her toes and kissed his cheek as she passed by. "You weirdo."

It took Lance approximately eight seconds to catch up with her.


	4. Missing You

When Pidge's eyes opened and she saw her bedroom, she grinned. She'd woken up like this every morning for the past few days, and she had the feeling that this excitement wasn't going to wear off any time soon. Being in her old room, taking in the view of posters scattered on the walls and sunlight streaming in through the window…it was so different than she'd become accustomed to, but in a good way.

Speaking of the past few days, they'd been wonderful. First there was a tear filled reunion with her mother, then she and Matt sat down and talked about their adventures for hours, taking their time to give as many details as possible. That night, her mother had tucked them both in bed and gave them kisses, and neither of them complained.

The next day had been a little harder, if she was honest. All of their family came into town, and while it was nice seeing them, it was difficult to remember why they were there— to mourn the loss of her father. While she and Matt had already dealt with their grief together, they'd forgotten that no one else had known. It was a weird day, half filled with celebration that Pidge and Matt had made it out alive, and the other half filled with tears and resent for the people who had taken their loved one away from them.

Then, there was the next day, when she and Matt were invited to a local school to talk about their experience in space. You'd think that after fighting in a literal war, talking to some high schoolers would be easy, but it was actually terrifying. Luckily, Matt always covered for her if she started to stutter, and at the end, there was a whole line of kids who wanted to shake her hand! Some even asked for her autograph, and that blew her away.

The day after that was even more fun, though, and that was today! Her grandma and mom— after seeing that Pidge was basically wearing the same shirt over and over again— had decided to take her out shopping. She usually didn't like this sort of thing, but after hanging out with mostly guys for several years, she appreciated a moment to be, well, Katie again. They shopped for hours, stopping in every store possible and giving her a brand new wardrobe for her adult figure.

She was in the middle of trying on a blue dress, wondering why she'd had this strange sensation at the back of her mind for a while now, and that's when it hit her.

 _Lance._

A rush of anxiety, excitement, worry, and guilt flooded through her all at once. How was he doing? Was he happy to be back home? Quiznak, how had she forgotten about him this entire time?

She looked at her reflection in the mirror, playing with the hem of the dress as her mind began spiraling out of control. But then, she smiled, because she realized that the dress was the exact same color of Lance's armor. She'd have to get it.

Pidge was humming when she left the dressing room, and her grandma smiled. "Find something you like?"

"Yup!" she said, holding out the dress.

Her mother walked over and nodded in approval. "I thought you liked green more?"

"I do," Pidge replied quickly, then blushed. "But I, uh, the color reminded me of one of my friends. You remember Lance, right?"

"I recall hearing about him a few times," her mother hummed.

Pidge felt herself blushing even more. "Yeah…he, um, well, it's a bit of a long story-"

"Get a boyfriend in space, Katherine?" her grandma teased. "He better be a cutie!"

She was hiding her face now, wishing that she'd never brought it up in the first place. A hand touched her shoulder, and Pidge peeked out from behind her hands.

Her mother was smiling at her. "You can tell us all about it later, if you want."

Pidge nodded, her mind drifting off to Lance again.

By the time she got home, she'd formed a plan. Well, it wasn't so much of a plan as it was the fact that she'd remembered she still had his phone number from the Garrison. The last place she remembered seeing it was on a sticky note in her desk, and she was praying that it was still there.

Her prayers must have been heard, because sure enough, when she practically pulled the drawer out of the desk, it was sitting there. Blowing off the dust, she grinned and entered it into her computer. A few more clicks, and— there! A video chat line.

She reached to click 'call', but she was hit with a wave of nerves. Did her hair look okay? Maybe she should put on something else, one of her new tops. Was her room messy? She didn't want him seeing that. And Matt was right next door, what if he heard them talking and barged in?

Pidge scrambled out of her chair and ran over to the door. She flicked on the lock, then fell back against the door with a sigh of relief. Her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror, though, and yikes, she looked rough. The next few minutes were filled with her rummaging for a new shirt and yanking a brush through her hair. A bit later, she finally settled back down at her desk, feeling no less nervous than she had when she left.

"Okay," she breathed. "It's fine. It's just Lance. Maybe he won't even pick up…wait, that would suck." She took in a deep breath. "Get yourself together, Pidge."

Chewing her lip, Pidge hit 'call'.

The window came up on the screen, and an icon with his face popped up.

 _Calling…calling…calling…_

She was biting her nails now. Then-

 _Accepted…_

Her heart skipped a beat.

 _Connecting…_

His face appeared on the screen.

"Hey!" he laughed. "I didn't expect to hear from you! How'd you get my number?"

She couldn't help but laugh right along with him. "I hacked the government again, duh." He rolled his eyes, and she grinned. "Just kidding, you gave it to me back at the Garrison."

"Huh, why don't I remember that?" he wondered aloud. "Anyways, how have you been? I've been thinking about you every day."

Lance said it so casually, like it was second nature for them, and Pidge's heart warmed. "I've been good! Super busy, actually. The day after we got back, we had a memorial service for dad."

He frowned. "Sorry I couldn't be there."

She smiled softly. "You were there when it happened, and that's what counts. Anyways, after that me and Matt went and talked at a local school-"

"That's awesome!" he interjected.

"Actually, it was pretty terrifying," she laughed awkwardly. "I think it went okay, though. I signed some autographs."

He winked at her. "Look at you, being a superstar!"

She just rolled her eyes, grinning. "Yeah, yeah. Today was fun, too. My mom and grandma took me out shopping-"

Lance gasped. "No, you? Shopping?!" He pretended to faint in his desk chair. "Oh the horror!"

Pidge giggled— _giggled!_ — and said, "Shut up! It was actually really fun. I got this." She referred to the shirt she was wearing, a yellow and white striped one with a little pocket on the front.

"I knew I hadn't seen that one before," he mumbled to himself. "Looks good!"

She played with the ends of her hair, feeling a bit bashful and still not knowing how to take his compliments. "Thanks, Lance."

"Anytime, Pidge," he replied, and she got that warm, tingly feeling again when he said her name. "By the way, do you want me to call you Pidge or Katie? Because I've been thinking about that a lot, and I just wanted to know your opinion—"

Pidge rested her chin on her hand, more than happy to sit and listen to Lance chatter away.

* * *

"-and that's how I wound up stuck in the tree," Lance finished.

"I can't believe you're _still_ afraid of heights," Pidge teased.

His eyes darted away from the screen. "Hey, it's just a thing I have! Phobias are there for a reason! It's in our DNA," he whispered conspiratorially.

"Lance?"

"Yes, Katie?"

She grinned at him through the screen. "Leave the science to me, okay?"

He smiled softly, nodding. "Yes, _señorita_." He leaned back in his chair, eyes wandering to stare out the window. Hold up a tick…was the sun going down?

"Quiznak, how long have we been talking?" he questioned.

Pidge scrunched her nose, then looked to her left. "Oh my gosh, it's been three hours!"

Suddenly, he burst out laughing. He just couldn't help it— how could they have been talking for _three hours_ and not realized it? Moments later, he heard Pidge join him.

By the time they stopped, both had tears streaming down their faces. "Oh quiznak, my mom's gonna think I fell asleep or something," Pidge chuckled.

"My _mamá_ is probably about to come hunt me down," Lance replied. They shared a grin, and he looked down at his lap. There was a moment of quiet, and he swallowed. There were words on the tip of his tongue…should he say them?

"So, uh…" he trailed off awkwardly. "I guess I'd better get going."

"Yeah, me too," Pidge sighed.

He nodded. Come on, get up the courage. Lance looked up at the screen and took in her expression. She looked about as excited to leave this conversation as he was, which was not at all.

Lance cleared his throat. He could do this. "Katie, I…I really miss you," he confessed, feeling his cheeks heat up slowly. "I can't stop thinking about you."

He swore he saw her blushing too, and she broke their eye contact. "Can I be honest?" she asked.

Lance nodded faster than he should've. "Of course! Always be honest."

She smiled at him, but it soon faded into a frown. "I've been so busy that…gosh, it sounds so awful," she groaned, hiding her face behind her hands. "I hadn't thought about you until today."

His heart twinged sadly, but he nodded.

"I was trying on this dress," she said, then suddenly laughed. "It was the same color as your armor, actually."

Lance smiled softly. "I'm sure it looked great on you."

She giggled. "You'll be the judge of that, I'm sure. Anyways, it made me think of you, and-" she stopped. He realized suddenly that her eyes looked glassy, and his heart twisted.

"I feel like the worst person ever," she admitted. "I can't believe I was so busy that I forgot about you. That's why I called."

He wished he was there. He wished he could reach through the screen and hold her close, tell her not to worry so much, that it was fine that she was busy and that he didn't blame her one bit.

"Katie, I-"

"No please, just don't," she cut him off. "I know this has to hurt you because you're a very emotional person and that's fine, that's great, actually because I'm not good at this, and can you just forgive me?"

Lance stared into her pixelated eyes. " _Querida_ , you're being too hard on yourself. You've been through a lot lately of hurt lately. Don't feel bad about it, please. It's not like I think about you every single second of the day, no one could do that even if they tried."

Instead of still looking sad like he expected (sometimes Pidge was so stubborn when she felt bad about something), she was tilting her head. "What did you just say?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I said don't feel bad about-"

"No, no, you said something in Spanish," she clarified. "What was it?"

Lance blushed. He'd hoped she hadn't caught that— he'd barely realized he did it himself.

" _Querida_ , it means, uh— darling in English is probably the closest translation," he mumbled, staring down at his fidgety hands. A beat passed. He opened his mouth to apologize—

"I miss you, Lance."

His head snapped up, and he saw— wait, did she look…wistful?

"I wish you were here," she continued. "I could show you around town, and take you to the place that has the best peanut butter cookies, and you could meet my mom again, and—"

"You're adorable," he blurted out.

She stammered, "W-What?"

Lance's eyes widened. "Sorry, I just- you looked- you were rambling, and it's really cute, and I-"

All of the sudden, she laughed and covered her face with her hands. "Quiznak, we're a mess, aren't we?"

He grinned awkwardly. "Yeah, we are…but it's okay with me, if it's okay with you."

Pidge smiled brightly, nodding. "Yes, it is."

"Good," he said with a loud sigh. "Because I can't stop stuttering around you."

"Me too," Pidge said, sticking her tongue out.

Lance let out a breath, smiling contentedly. "I can't wait to see you again."

She smirked. "I'm right here, silly."

"You know what I mean," he said with an eye roll.

"Yeah, I do," she whispered. His heart jumped with joy at the look in her eyes. He wanted to be with her so bad.

"See you soon, Lance."

"Yeah, see you, Katie."

There was one final shared smile, and the call ended.

Lance fell back in his chair, a giant grin on his face. He had to go tell his _mamá_ …and then make a plan for how he could see Katie in that blue dress she mentioned.

He made his way downstairs, not surprised when he heard his younger siblings shouting "Lance! Lance!". He laughed, embracing them when they rushed into his arms.

"Where were you?" Mia cried.

"Yeah, you were gone for _hours_!" Sebastian whined.

He ruffled their hair affectionately. "I was just talking to one of my friends, you guys!"

Mia's eyes widened. "One of the other paladins?"

Lance nodded. "Yup, and she's a strong girl just like you!" he said, tapping her on the nose. She giggled, running back into the yard where she and Sebastian had come from.

"A girl, hm?" his _mamá_ questioned lightly.

Ears turning red, Lance pulled up a seat at the kitchen counter. _"Si, mamá."_

She hummed. "And what is she like? Must be interesting if you were talking with her for _tres horas_."

He swallowed. He knew he couldn't hide this from her forever— she knew him too well. But he'd wanted to bring it up himself, not be on the other side of one of her famous interrogations.

"Well, she's…amazing," he started with a sigh. "And beautiful, and super smart. Half the time I don't even know what she's saying," he laughed, hopping off his seat and coming around to hug his _mamá_. "And she's funny and strong, like you," he said, kissing his _mamá_ on the cheek.

She gave him a look. "You know I have to meet her before the engagement, si?"

 _"Mamá,"_ he groaned. "I haven't even taken her out on our first date yet, can't you at least give Katie a chance? _Por favor?_ " he begged.

His _mamá_ sighed. "Only for you, _mi hijo_. Don't get your heart broken. And don't you dare break her heart, either."

Lance nodded seriously. "I won't, _mamá_. You raised me better than that."

The two shared a smile, and Lance hugged her again. It was so good to be home.


	5. Discovering Each Other

Lance couldn't sit still. He kept moving, whether it was shifting to the left, staring out the window, or wringing his hands. His heart rate was insane, and he felt kinda dizzy, almost like he was going to be sick.

The taxi driver glanced at him through the mirror. "Everything alright back there?"

Lance practically jumped out of his seat. "W-Who, me?"

The taxi driver— a kind elderly gentleman from the airport— chuckled. "You're seeing your girl, aren't you?" he asked knowingly.

Lance laughed nervously. "That obvious, huh?"

The man shrugged. "I remember being in that position before. Want some advice?" Lance nodded. "Nobody's perfect, son, but they can be perfect for you. Just keep that in mind the first time you two fight."

"I hope that won't be soon," Lance said. "I can't imagine us ever fighting."

The man shook his head. "Sounds like you're still in the honeymoon faze."

"Yeah," Lance sighed happily. "I'm taking her out for our first date tonight."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," the taxi driver said. A moment after, they took a right turn, and the man's eyes were widening. He came to a stop at the gate, stuttering, "W-Wait, you're one of the-?"

"Thanks for the ride!" Lance called out, quickly handing him the money and getting out of the car with his duffle bag in hand. The guards at the gate saw him coming, gave a signal, and the gate opened for him. Lance grinned as he walked through, the Castle of Lions standing proudly before him. They were so lucky that this DC air base had been empty when they arrived.

When he walked through the door, he wasn't surprised to see everyone gathered around and chatting.

"Lance!" Hunk called with a smile. "How was home?"

"It was great," Lance told him. "Almost wish I could've stayed longer, but duty calls," he said sarcastically.

Shiro was walking over now, smiling. "It's good to have you back, Lance."

"Yeah, we were starting to think you'd bailed," Keith jibed lightly.

Lance waved a hand. "Me? Bail on this motley crew? Never!" Everyone shared a chuckle, and he took that moment to look around. Matt and Allura— geez, they were together a lot these days— were off to the side catching up, so where was Katie?

"Where's Ka- Pidge?" Lance corrected.

"Where do you think?" Kieth questioned. "All of our lions are upset with us for leaving. Don't you feel it?"

Pausing, Lance closed his eyes. Red was there, and while he did sense a little frustration, she was purring happily.

 _My paladin, you're back!_

He grinned, opening his eyes. "I don't see what you're talking about," he hummed casually as he walked past Keith. "Red is perfectly fine."

Keith crossed his arms. "Sure she is."

Shiro glanced between the two. "Just go check on her, okay?" he suggested to Lance. "We all had to spend some time with our lions after we got back. Pidge got here half a varga ago, and she's been in Green's hangar since."

Lance nodded seriously. "Will do." He walked off in the general direction of the hangars, only taking a turn toward Green's once he was out of sight. He hadn't told them that he could feel Blue's annoyance with him, but he'd check up on her later. He had a girl to go see!

He was giddy with excitement, practically skipping the way there. What should he do? Sneak up on her and surprise her? Dare to kiss her forehead again? Dang it, he should've gotten some flowers— wait, no, that didn't make sense, she had allergies, duh.

He was at the hangar door now, and with a giant grin on his face, he strolled in.

The sight before him nearly made him stop.

There she was, sitting cross legged between Green's front paws, speaking softly.

"-I think you'd like my mom, too. When I told her about you, she was very proud at how good you've been at protecting me!"

Lance heard a low rumble, and Katie's shoulders perked up a bit.

"Exactly! Why would you think I'd tell them something bad? No, we'll keep that stuff to ourselves," she joked, patting Green's paw affectionately.

This was his chance. "And what are these bad things, exactly?" he asked.

Katie spun around, a bright smile coming onto her face. "Lance!"

He laughed, holding out his arms. "Yes, _querida_?"

Grinning, she scrambled up from the floor and crossed the distance between them. Without thinking, he picked her up and spun her around. She laughed, and he set her down.

Pidge beamed at him, then reached up and hugged him tightly. "I wanted to wait for you, but Greenie here was mad," she explained in a rush.

Lance chuckled and held her close. "Yeah, Shiro told me all the lions were upset we left."

He released her, and Katie nodded. "She was. If you ask me, I think she's jealous."

"Of who, me?" he teased.

Katie made a face like she was about to joke back, but then she froze in horror. "Quiznak," she whispered. "I haven't told her."

Lance tilted his head, confused, but then it dawned on him. He hadn't told Red or Blue about him and Katie yet, either. There was a low growl, and the pair winced. When they turned, Green's eyes were glowing a fervent yellow down at them.

"Now, Green-" Pidge started, and there was another rumble. "Hey, he's not that bad!"

Cringing, Lance asked, "Should I leave?"

Katie huffed. "No, she's just upset I didn't tell her sooner. I only found out two weeks ago, Greenie!"

There was a weird noise this time— almost like a growl, but lighter. Wait, was Green…laughing?

She must have been, because Pidge was now doubled over in laughter. "Oh quiznak, yes, it was hilarious, girl."

Lance pouted and crossed his arms. From her side of the conversation, it sounded like Green was making fun of him. But then, Katie was grabbing his hand and pulling him forward.

"Come on," she whispered. "She wants to approve of you."

Lance swallowed hard. "Wait, what- what do I have to do?"

Pidge grinned at him. "Come on, just follow me." Green's head was lowering now and her mouth opened to show stairs up to the cockpit. This was it. He was gonna die. And before their first date, too.

Holding his hand tight, Katie lead him around to the front of the cockpit. He noted a string of lights near the control panel, and he chuckled. Then suddenly, she was in front of him.

"Green says you need to sit down in the pilot's chair," Katie told him.

"Is she gonna electrocute me?" he gulped. She laughed, pushing him back into the chair without an answer. The second he sat down, something in his mind shifted. It was almost like…like a door in his mind was opening up. And something was entering.

He gasped, "Katie-"

"Shh, she won't hurt you," Katie murmured. "I'm right here. Keep your eyes closed."

Lance didn't even remember shutting them, but he nodded, clutching onto her hands for support. What was happening? What was this fuzzy feeling in his head? Was he-

There was a gentle purr. And it didn't sound like one of his lions.

 _Hmm…I never thought **you** were a possibility._

Panic was rising in him now.

 _Oh calm down, will you?_

Wait, was that-?

 _Katie?_ he questioned.

 _The one and only,_ she replied sarcastically.

 _What's going on?_

 _Greenie's searching you,_ Katie said.

 _For what?_

 _Ill intent._

Quiznak, that voice wasn't his Katie.

 _Yours, hm?_

Lance swallowed nervously. Unwittingly, he tightened his grip on Katie's hands.

 _Speak, Paladin. Explain yourself._

Taking in a deep breath, Lance focused on the connection between them. Honestly, he was too scared to speak. He knew he could share his emotions with Red and Blue, but would it work the same way? An approving rumble was his answer, and with that, he opened his heart.

 _A flood of warmth filled the connection, followed by a strong sense of protection. Hope, then anxiety were next. Excitement, nervousness, joy— passion. Admiration, and after that a desire to do whatever it took to make her happy._

 _His memories were flashing before them now. Every longing look, every worried thought during battle, every night wondering when he'd get up the courage to tell her._

 _And finally — an overwhelming surge of love._

The connection broke suddenly, and there was a loud roar.

Lance groaned and shook his head. Had that really just happened? He felt like his brain had been put in a blender. The first thing he registered was a noise that sounded like…crying?

His eyes flashed open, and his heart broke instantly. Pidge— his darling Katie— had burst into tears. Acting on instinct, he gathered her up in his arms. She cried into his chest for what felt like forever. Lance didn't know what to say. Did Green disapprove? Was he not worthy of her?

Then, she was gazing up at him angrily. "You- you idiot!" she blubbered. "I can't— I can't believe you, why-"

"Shh, shh, I'm sorry," he whispered.

"You should be!" Katie exclaimed. She sat up now, and he didn't have time to contemplate the fact that she was sitting _on_ him. "I can't believe you felt like that for _so long_ and I know you said years, but I didn't think-" she let out a strangled sob. "Why didn't you just _tell_ me, Lance?"

Lance blinked. Wait, she wasn't mad at him? Well, she was, but not for the reason he initially thought. He reached up and cupped her face gently.

"I…" he trailed off. "I thought it wasn't the right time. I didn't want to distract you…didn't want to endanger you. What if the Galra had found out that I lov- that I liked you?" he corrected quickly. "They would've taken you in a heartbeat, and I couldn't have that happen."

She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "You're still an idiot."

He managed a smile. "I'm your idiot…if you'll have me."

Katie laughed, her eyes sparkling with more unshed tears. "Of course I will, Lance."

Sighing with relief, he pulled her into his arms again. He heard her sniff a few more times, and he carded his fingers through her hair. Pidge hummed at the touch, nuzzling deeper into his chest. Lance smiled and shut his eyes. He could stay like this forever.

But then, a thought occurred to him.

"…so, does this mean Green approves of me?"

Giggling, Katie replied, "If she didn't, you would've been thrown out several ticks ago."

* * *

It was a few hours later, and Pidge was fiddling with the ends of her sweater. She stared out the window, watching as the trees passed by in a blur. They'd left over twenty minutes ago, and Lance still wouldn't tell her where he was taking them. He'd just laugh and say, "You'll see when we get there!"

As they drove along the back roads, Pidge couldn't help but be preoccupied with her thoughts of what happened earlier. If she was honest, she was a bit embarrassed. Sure, Lance had seen her cry before, but that was different. She hadn't expected to cry, either, and so that caught her completely by surprise. Then again, so did Lance every single day.

Which reminded her—

"So when did you get a license?" she questioned.

"Every pilot has to have a license before training," he told her, his eyes never leaving the road. "I mean, how can you pilot a ship if you can't drive a car?"

"Huh, I'd never thought about it before," she thought aloud. She turned back to staring out the window. How did she bring this up? Did she even want to talk about it? Well, yeah, she kinda did…and Lance _did_ say that he always wanted her to be honest.

Katie just didn't know how to do this.

How was she supposed to… _be_ in a relationship? How much of herself did she show? How much did she hide? She wasn't used to being open with her feelings, but…it did sound nice to have someone to talk to.

Katie glanced over at the man next to her. She wanted to open her mouth and say something. She really did. So, she did, and—

"We're here!" Lance cheered.

Katie blinked. She turned, her jaw dropping. "Wait a second, is this-?"

"A drive in movie theater!" Lance finished for her. "It's cool, right? I didn't think they existed anymore."

She nodded slowly, taking in the sight of cars gathered around the massive blank screen. It felt like…well, it felt like she was an actual teenager on an actual date.

Lance pulled around to the closest spot, backing in with expert ease. He put the gear in park and cast her a bright smile. "Ready?"

Suddenly, Katie felt a thrill run through her. She nodded, not waiting for Lance before she got out and ran around back. It all made sense now— why he'd kept it a secret, why he'd told her to dress warmly, even why they were driving a truck, for crying out loud.

Lance met her at the truck bed, unlocking it and revealing a bundle of blankets. Katie grinned widely, and he smiled back. He hopped up into the bed and offered her a hand up. She accepted it, glad for the simple feeling of his hand in hers again.

"Blanket fort?" she suggested.

He grinned. "Absolutely!"

Minutes later, Lance was already sitting back in his cozy cocoon, pillows on every side. Katie finished propping up a pillow she'd found, and she stood back. Something…something wasn't right. She frowned, moving the pillow a little to the left. No, that wasn't right, either.

"Katie?"

She looked up, and Lance was blushing. "You, uh," he stammered. "You can sit next to me- if, if you want."

Katie thought about it for a moment, and then shrugged. "Okay." She took her pillow and set it right next to Lance. She sat down and leaned back against it, keeping a few inches between herself and him.

She tried to focus on their surroundings. On the sounds of everyone around them. But no, the voice in her head was practically shouting at her now— something _still_ wasn't right.

"Screw it," she muttered.

Lance gave a confused look. "Huh-?" But he didn't finish, because Katie had grabbed Lance's arm, flung it around her shoulders, and snuggled into his side.

'Much better,' she sighed happily.

Lance was snickering now. "Have you always been a snuggle bug?"

"Nope, just with you," Katie murmured. She glanced up at him and saw that he was grinning. His thumb was rubbing slow circles into her arm, and she closed her eyes. Forget the movie— she felt like taking a nap.

"You okay, _querida_?"

She nodded sleepily, draping an arm across his waist and snuggling into him more. "Yeah, I'm fine-" she yawned. "Promise."

His chuckle was deep and warm, especially since her ear was pressed up against his chest. "Clearly," he replied. "Although I'm not surprised that you're worn out."

She lifted her head to look at him. "Why's that?"

Lance's eyes gazed into hers gently. "Because of what happened earlier. The thing with Green."

Katie blushed suddenly. "Oh yeah. That."

"Yeah," he replied. His hand reached for hers, and he laced their fingers together. He stared down at them, his thumb smoothing over the top of her hand. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

She gazed at where their connected hands rested on his chest. "Yeah, I do."

Lance nodded. "Take all the time you need…or at least, until the trailers get started," he joked.

Katie couldn't help a snicker. "Quiznak, I don't know where to begin…I guess… I'm sorry?" Lance raised an eyebrow, and she squeezed his hand. "Just- just let me talk," she insisted. He squeezed back, and she took that as a go-ahead.

"I'm sorry for getting all emotional and crying, and I know I shouldn't apologize, but…I don't know," she said, her voice getting quiet. "I don't know how to handle all this, how to talk about feelings. And today-"

She felt Lance take in a sharp breath. Katie looked away from their hands and stared up into his ocean blue eyes.

"Today, your emotions were so…so _strong_ ," she whispered. "I had no idea, and it just-" she stopped, her eyes stinging with new tears.

"Hey, hey, no more of that," he soothed, holding her tight. "It _was_ overwhelming," he acknowledged slowly. "…but it was also the truth."

Katie let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I don't know if I deserve you," she admitted. "You've been so open with me, and I-"

"-you are perfect just the way you are," he insisted. "I want you to be you, because you are the person I want. Don't be anyone but yourself."

How did all of this happen, she wondered. How did this man fall for someone like her? How did she not know for so long, yet somehow felt that pull toward him all along? How did she wind up here, perfectly content in his arms?

Katie took in the look in his eyes. They were so kind, so sincere. She meant the world to him, she realized. And though she didn't want to admit it now, he was becoming the same to her.

Katie nodded. "Okay."

There was a loud cheer, and the pair jumped. They looked— the movie had just started. Their eyes met, and they laughed.

Lance held her close, nuzzling his nose into the top of her head. "Good first date?"

"Great first date," she hummed.


	6. Falling Slowly

"But all I'm saying is-"

"Lance, if you say one more word, I will hurt you."

The man sighed, his breath tickling her nose. "Can't you work on this another time?"

"Shiro and Allura want this intel as soon as possible, so no," Katie repeated for the millionth time, swatting randomly at his face. He'd been moving around constantly for half a varga now, and his latest position was lying on the floor with his head in her lap.

Lance pouted, sitting up suddenly and wrapping his arms around her. "Fiiiiiine."

She looked down at him, bemused. "Lance?"

 _"Si, querida?"_

"I can't move my arms."

He groaned loudly and let go, falling back on the hangar floor. There was a low rumble, and Katie couldn't help but snicker.

Lance shot upright again. "See! Look! Green still hates me!"

Katie leaned over and patted his head. "She doesn't hate you, she just thinks you're funny."

He blinked. "Really?"

"Really," Katie confirmed. "And she'd like you even more if you let me get my work done."

Lance made a face like he would groan again, and Katie held up a finger.

"The faster I get my work done, the faster you can have my attention," she told him.

Lance's eyes brightened, and he pushed her back toward her laptop. "Then go! Go ahead and work!"

Katie rolled her eyes, chuckling as she returned to her screen. She worked in silence for several minutes, and she almost thought she'd been successful in taming him. But alas, she soon sensed him shift, and before she knew it, he was playing with her hair.

She opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. It wasn't like it was too distracting…actually, it was rather calming. Some of the stress in her shoulders began to dissipate, and Katie fell into an easy rhythm decoding the latest encrypted message they'd received.

Several minutes passed by— at some point, Lance started humming a random melody— before she was alerted to the sound of footsteps entering the hangar. The pair looked up in tandem.

Coran waved. "What's cookin', kiddos?"

Katie couldn't help but smile. Coran had taken time to learn Earth terms while they were there, and he was totally convinced that he was now "hip."

"Just finishing the decryption," she responded.

The advisor nodded. "Better hurry! Dinner will be ready in a flash, bro!"

She saw Lance nod out of the corner of her eye. "We'll be there soon. Thanks, Coran."

Coran smiled and turned on his heel, calling out "See you later, alligator!" as he left.

Maybe it was just her imagination, but she swore he mumbled something about "number five and number three getting closer lately."

* * *

Hunk let out a frustrated groan. "Lance, we've been searching for her for a whole varga, now. I think we know that the cloaking tech works on her armor."

Lance waved a hand, not stopping in his stride. "Oh we knew that a while ago, but now I'm just mad. I mean, how good can she be at hide and seek?!"

The larger man rolled his eyes. "You do remember that she once single-handedly evaded the Galra and turned the ship against them, right? She probably knows all the best spots on this thing."

Lance frowned, looking back down at his hand held map of the ship. He thought they'd checked almost everywhere, but still, no luck. Then, a light bulb went off. "Maybe she's gone some place only she can go!"

Hunk gave him a dubious look. "Such as…?"

"A really, really small space," Lance continued excitedly. "She's short- she could fit anywhere!"

Eyes widening, Hunk grabbed the device from Lance's hands. "I'll calibrate it to locate areas on the ship less than…say, three cubic feet?"

Lance nodded. "Do it. We're finding her, whether she likes it or not!" He put his hands on his hips, tapping a foot as Hunk messed around with the device. He knew there was a reason Katie had been way too excited to do this— she must have planned her hiding spot a while ago.

He was contemplating how impressive this feat actually was when Hunk gave an "aha!".

"I've got 'em," Hunk told him, showing him the screen. "There's only three places she could be— engine room, the mini pods, and the kitchen. Safe to say she isn't in the last two, because I don't think she'd stick herself in the oven."

Lance nodded, then pointed forward dramatically. "The engine room, it is!"

They walked quickly, though Lance had a little more bounce in his step than Hunk did. Lance silently decided that if she wasn't in the engine room, they'd call it quits. Hunk seemed tired, and he didn't want to wear him out unnecessarily.

The pair arrived at the engine room, and Lance glanced at the screen in Hunk's hand. "So, where do we look exactly?"

Hunk looked up, his nose scrunched. "It says…the control panel?"

Lance sighed. "No way she's in there with all the wires, but might as well check." Sure enough, when they wandered over, there was no Katie to be found. Lance groaned loudly.

"I give up," he grumbled. "Let's head back to the common area. Maybe she's waiting there."

Looking relieved, Hunk said, "Sounds like a plan."

The trip back was silent, but as they were walking through the halls, Lance felt like he should give it at least one more try.

"Katie?" he called, hands cupped around his mouth. "Katie, we give up! You can come out now! Come on, Katie!"

There was no response. Lance sighed. At least he tried. He'd probably have to go hunt her down later, because knowing Katie, she was way too determined and would definitely stay hidden for as long as she—

"Since when did you call her Katie?"

Lance blinked. "Huh?"

"Pidge, you called her Katie," Hunk repeated slowly. "When did that start?"

Lance laughed awkwardly. "Oh, you know, it's just her real name, so I figured I should call her that. Pidge was always Matt's nickname for her."

Hunk's nose scrunched up. "Really? It was?"

"Yeah, that's where she got it from," Lance nodded.

"Huh, didn't know that," Hunk mumbled. They were walking along the hallway with their bedrooms, now.

Lance stopped at his door and gave Hunk an apologetic half smile. "Well, at least we know the cloaking tech works, right?"

Hunk snorted. "Yeah, guess so."

"Thanks for searching with me," Lance said, patting his best buddy on the arm. "I know you had other things to do."

"I don't mind," Hunk admitted with a shrug. "It was a nice distraction. I already miss home."

Lance nodded understandingly. "I know what you mean. Anyways," he said, pushing the button for his door to open, "see you later—"

"Took you two long enough!"

The boys jumped, spinning around and shouting—

"Katie?!"

"Pidge?!"

She hopped off the bed, grinning devilishly. "I've been here for over a varga! What was the hold up?"

Lance slapped a hand over his face. "Of course you would hide here! It was so obvious-"

"Which is why it wasn't obvious at all," Katie laughed.

Lance chuckled, stepping into the room and letting the door shut behind him.

Neither of them saw Hunk's confused look as he stood frozen in the hallway.

And certainly neither of them heard Hunk whisper, "Wait…since when did Pidge hang out in Lance's room?"

* * *

"Admit it."

"No."

"Katie-"

"I refuse."

"Pidge-"

"Not happening."

"Please-?"

"Nope, not even with that cute expression."

Lance grinned down at her. "Oh, you think I'm cute, hm?"

Katie just rolled her eyes. "No, I think you're the ugliest thing in the world— yes, I think you're cute."

He stepped ahead of her and turned around, walking backwards as he lifted his eyebrows. "Just cute?"

"Don't push your luck, tailor," she shot back, but she knew her smile ruined the effect of her words.

They'd been on patrol for three vargas now, and even though Lance had slowed down to accommodate for her tiny footsteps a long time ago, Katie felt like collapsing. She decided that she wouldn't complain, though. She'd just keep going forward, knowing that eventually they'd get the call from Shiro that they could come in. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for her, she had a very observant boyfriend (oh quiznak, even thinking about that word made her buzz).

Lance had come to a full stop now, and he blocked her path. "Katie, please just listen to me. I know you're exhausted."

She crossed her arms stubbornly. "So what? There's nothing we can do about it."

Her boyfriend held up a finger. "Not true! I can give you a piggy back ride!"

Katie raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," he nodded. "You'll just hop on, and I'll do all the walking for you!"

She gave him a hesitant look, and Lance groaned. He crossed the distance between them and took her hands in his. His ocean blue eyes were gazing into hers, and Katie felt her resolve weakening.

 _"Por favor, querida,"_ he pleaded. "I can't stand watching you like this. Let me take care of you."

Katie's eyes darted to the ground, and he put a hand under her chin.

"Accepting help doesn't make you weak," Lance said suddenly. Her eyes widened, and he chuckled. "I know you how you think, Katie." He turned around and knelt down. "Hop on!"

Still amazed that he had read her thoughts so easily, Katie walked forward in a daze. She sat down on his back, looping her arms around his neck and hooking her feet onto his hips. He locked his arms around her legs and stood up slowly.

"Ready?" he asked.

Katie nodded sleepily, nuzzling her nose into his neck. She could've sworn she felt him shiver. He shifted his hold on her slightly before he began moving forward. She shut her eyes, the steady rhythm of his footsteps lulling her into a light slumber.

She wasn't sure how long she was out, but Lance's voice woke her up what felt like ages later.

"-decided to come in early. Katie was about to give out," he was saying.

"Is she okay?" That voice…Shiro?

Katie blinked her eyes open. Sure enough, there was Shiro, and he had that worried look on his face.

His eyes turned to her, and that's when she realized he wasn't looking down at her. Lance was still giving her a piggy back ride.

"Are you okay?" Shiro asked gently.

She sniffed. "I'm fine-"

"She's exhausted," Lance cut in. "I thought I'd take her back to her room."

Shiro gave Lance a curious look, but nodded. "Alright. I'll call in Hunk and Keith."

Lance nodded firmly, then turned to Katie. "Come on, _querida_ , let's get you to bed."

She sighed and tightened her grip on his neck. "Don't sweet talk me when I'm angry," she grumbled.

Chuckling, Lance began walking toward the Castle of Lions, both of them entirely missing Shiro's bewildered expression.

* * *

Deep breath in. Slow breath out. Stare down the target. Finger on the trigger. Aim. Focus, and—

"How long are you gonna play target practice?"

Lance jumped at the voice, and he fired. It hit two inches to the left of the bullseye.

"Dang it, Keith, why'd you have to do that?" Lance groaned. "I was going for a personal best!"

The mullet head shrugged. "Don't blame me— Shiro's the one who said your hand to hand needed work."

 _"Your hand to hand needs work,"_ Lance mocked. "My hand to hand is perfectly fine, thank you very much!"

Keith rolled his eyes, then threw a punch. Lance screeched and jumped back.

"You were saying?" Keith asked with a raised eyebrow.

Lance huffed, but followed after Keith into the main training area. "Bet you couldn't even hit the target if you tried," he muttered.

Keith smirked, turning around and getting into a ready position. "Is that a bet?" he challenged.

Lance grinned. Sometimes it was still fun playing rivals. "You betcha."

His dark haired friend nodded. "Good, because you're not fighting me."

Lance's fighting pose faltered. "Wait, wha-?"

 _Slam._

He skidded to the ground, holding his side. The Gladiator stood over him, single mechanical eye glowing bright blue. The Gladiator's staff came whipping around, and Lance scrambled back, narrowly avoiding it.

Lance's eyes darted over to where Keith was standing off to the side. "Dude, what the quiznak—!"

 _"Watch out!"_

In slow motion, Lance watched as Katie vaulted over him, her bayard slamming into the Gladiator's face with a resounded crash. The Gladiator fell back, momentarily stunned. Lance vaguely heard Keith calling for it to shut down.

Katie's worried eyes met his. "You okay?"

He blinked, then shook his head. "What are you doing here?" he exclaimed.

She smirked, giving him a hand up. "You thought Keith would throw you into the ring alone?"

Lance glared at the man in question. "Maybe…"

"Her hand to hand needs work as well," Keith called out from the sidelines. "Pidge, throw your bayard to me."

She groaned loudly, but did as she was told. Once Keith caught it, he shouted, "Level three, begin."

Immediately, Lance and Katie were back to back.

"You go high, I'll go low," she instructed him.

He nodded. "Got it." The Gladiator awakened, and Lance grinned, feeling a rush of adrenaline run through him. They got this.

Or so he thought.

The Gladiator whipped around faster than he'd anticipated, and he immediately had to duck. Pidge flipped around and got into her fighting stance, a scowl on her face. Good— now he was behind the Gladiator and she was in front. They could make this work, tag teaming him from both sides.

If only it was that simple. The Gladiator was too smart. He'd aim at Katie, then spin around and get a hit in at Lance. This went on for several minutes, and Lance knew they couldn't beat him— heck, they could hardly play defense, and they couldn't do that forever.

They were gonna lose, he realized.

Screw his bet with Keith, he now had one goal and one goal only: make sure Katie got out without a scratch.

Logically, he knew there wasn't any real danger. Keith wouldn't allow the Gladiator to actually hurt them (not too bad, anyways). But Lance saw that mechanical eye gleam, and a very real surge of fear spread through him. The Gladiator was raising his staff again, and this time, Katie wasn't turned around to see it.

Not. His. Katie.

Lance lunged forward with a yell, blocking the hit and getting thrown to the side.

"Lance!" he heard her yell. Their eyes met, and his widened. The Gladiator was winding up again.

"Katie-!"

It was too late. She was tossed several feet, skidding to a stop and hitting the wall.

"End training sequence!" Keith shouted.

Lance felt like he couldn't breathe. He rushed over to Katie's side, cradling her in his arms.

 _"Querida?"_ he whispered. "Katie, please, say something."

Her eyes blinked open, and he held his breath. "You-" she coughed. "Your eyes are pretty."

Lance let out a strangled laugh, his eyes wandering over her body for any injuries. "Yeah, something's definitely wrong with you."

She gave him a half smile, and that's when he noticed it. Her lips.

Well, it wasn't like he hadn't seen them before, but now they just seemed so…close. They were parted, her breath passing through them quickly as she tried to regulate her breathing. They were a pretty shade of pink, too. Since when had that been a thing?

Before Lance knew it, he felt a tugging sensation pulling him toward her. So close…maybe if he just went in a few more inches—

"She okay?"

And just like that, the spell was broken.

Lance snapped up, nodding quickly. "Yeah, yeah, just checking her, uh," Keith raised an eyebrow. "…breathing," Lance finished lamely.

Thankfully, Keith didn't seem too suspicious. "We better get her to the pods just in case," he told him.

Nodding, Lance stood up to his full height, keeping Katie in his arms. He began walking toward the infirmary, not catching the way Keith stared after them, smiling softly.

* * *

"Lance!" she giggled, swatting him away. "Someone could walk in," she reminded him in a whisper.

Lance hummed, continuing to nuzzle his nose into her neck as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "And what would be so bad about that?"

Katie pried him off gently and gave him an admonishing look. "You know as well as I do that we can't tell them until everything is over," she reminded him. "You said it yourself— it would endanger us both, and—"

"I know, I know," he whined, gathering her into his arms again. "But I'm getting tired of it."

Katie sighed, still smiling as she ran a hand up and down Lance's back. "Me too," she admitted. "But it'll be worth it."

Lance released her, smiling brightly. "Well, of course! You're worth the entire universe to me," he told her, leaning forward and kissing her on her forehead.

She giggled, returning to her task of mixing up this whatever-it-was in a bowl. It was her night to help Hunk with kitchen duty, and while he had stepped out for a moment, Lance had snuck in, immediately showering her with affection.

He'd been acting that way a lot lately. It wasn't unwanted— it was welcomed, even, especially since it often gave Katie opportunities to show her ever-growing affection in return. But it had started rather suddenly after their sparring session with the Gladiator last week, and she wasn't sure what to think.

Then again, she considered as she felt Lance's arms snaking around her waist again, what was there to think about? This relationship was all about feeling, and right now, she felt happy— if not a bit rebellious, sneaking around and stealing romantic moments with her secret boyfriend.

But, she thought with a smirk, it was still fun to play games with him.

She let out a dramatic groan, wriggling out of Lance's grasp and hopping up onto the counter. "There!" she exclaimed. "Now you can't reach me!"

He leaned forward, playfully raising a eyebrow. "Oh? Can't I?"

Katie opened her mouth to respond, but something suddenly occurred to her. Sitting up here, she was on Lance's eye level. More importantly, his lips were right in front of hers.

She'd noticed them in passing before, but…now, so close, they looked so…soft. And nice. And they were the shade of her favorite kind of flower growing up— a dusty rose. She blinked, wondering why it felt like they were opposite polarities, being pulled desperately toward each other.

She started to lean in, curiosity filling her, but then, there were footsteps.

Their eyes widened at the same time.

"Hide!" she whispered.

Lance looked around frantically, searching for a place, but it was too late. The door swished open, and in walked Allura, her hands full with some sort of alien vegetable.

"Oh hello!" she greeted. "Hunk said you'd be here, Pidge. You'll need these for the next step in the recipe— I can't believe I forgot to tell you earlier!"

Katie nodded, her head still in a foggy daze. "Yes, yeah, thank you! I was about to ask for those," she lied quickly.

Allura nodded understandingly, then turned to where Lance was standing, frozen. "Coran wanted to see you on the bridge, Lance. Something about cleaning the pods, again," she told him.

He cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, well, tell him I'll be there very soon."

Allura nodded, and with that, she walked away. Katie sighed with relief, telling herself that she was just paranoid for thinking she saw a twinkle in the princess' eyes.

* * *

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna di-!"

"LANCE, SHUT UP! We're gonna be fine—"

The sound of a rocket firing off filled the air, and the two watched with horrified eyes as it sailed toward its target, exploding before them.

The words "Game Over" flashed on the screen, and Katie turned around in his lap.

"I'm blaming that entirely on you," she told him.

Lance peered down at her. "Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"You're the one who lead us into the trap to begin with!" she exclaimed. "Of course it's your fault!"

"But you were the one who said to pick up the detonator!" he shot back.

"Because it was important!"

"Says who?"

"Says the game! It only ever shows the blue triangle when you should pick up something, ergo—"

"Ergo, it lied to us," Lance decided, crossing his arms. "And ergo, I don't like fighting about something silly."

Katie blinked at him, then looked down at the ground bashfully. "Sorry, I got a bit carried away there," she murmured.

He smiled, leaning forward and rubbing his nose against hers. "It's okay! Maybe we should play something different."

Her eyes were back up now, looking curious. "Like what?"

"Hmmm," he said, putting a hand to his chin. "Wanna check out that new horror game I picked up?"

Katie froze, and he knew that he'd done something wrong.

"Horror…game?" she squeaked. "Y-Yeah, I mean sure, if you want to, but uh…I just…does it have any spiders in it?"

Lance tilted his head. "Wait, are you afraid of spiders?"

Katie huffed and crossed her arms. "Arachnophobia is an entirely logical fear! They have way too many eyes and legs, plus, with tarantulas, you can't even feel when they're on y—"

Her rambling stopped the second Lance enveloped her in a warm hug. "We don't have to play it, Katie," he soothed. "Let's just watch a movie, okay?"

He felt her sigh with relief more than he heard it. "Okay, thank you."

Lance smiled, ducking down and landing a soft kiss on her nose. "Anything for you."

Katie smiled up at him, snuggling into his chest and turning back to face the screen. "So what do you wanna watch?" she asked, flipping through the movies she'd saved to the ship's archives.

Yawning, Lance tossed his controller aside and wrapped his arms around his girl. "Whatever you want," he hummed.

Thirty minutes into the movie, both of them were out cold. Thankfully, the only person who came by the common area was Matt, and all he did was stop and make sure Lance's hands were in an appropriate position before he nodded and walked away.

* * *

Katie couldn't stand it. Not one bit.

They were back on Arus visiting the lovely little Arusians, and they'd invited them back into the Castle of Lions. It was going fine— great, actually. And then Lance happened.

He walked in from his patrol, and Katie could tell that he was trying to subtly look for her in the crowd. She'd been about to wave, when a group of toddler Arusians had swarmed the tall man. He laughed, immediately sitting down and letting them all pile on.

And she couldn't stand it. Her heart was squeezing uncomfortably, and her eyes were watering. She wasn't mad— far from it.

It was just so incredibly… _cute!_

Katie knew that Lance had siblings, and she knew that he loved them very much. After all, it had taken several hours for him to tell her about his weeks back home, and each time he mentioned one of his siblings, his face just lit up.

So in theory, seeing him interact so joyously with little children shouldn't be that shocking…but something about it just made her heart swell with pride.

Katie sighed, leaning against a column and gazing lovingly at her boyfriend. It was well over a month now, and she still couldn't believe this wasn't an alternate reality. Lance was…quiznak, Lance was _everything_. She knew that he wasn't perfect, but it sure seemed like it. He was kind and gentle and protective and wonderful. He'd sit with her while she fiddled on her computer for hours, reminding her to take care of herself and helping when he could. He never pressured her, always letting her set the pace, yet also keeping his teasing at the optimal level. His sweet kisses made her heart soar, and she swore his hugs could fix anything.

She smiled. She was head over heels for him, and she knew it.

"It's pretty cute, right?"

Katie jumped and turned. Hunk was at her side, sipping on a cup of something. But then she followed where his eyes were looking, catching view of her boyfriend bopping one of the little Arusian's on its nose.

Sighing dreamily, she said, "Yeah, he's gonna make a good dad one day."

She froze the second the words left her mouth. Did she…did she actually just say that?

"Yeah, he will," Hunk replied casually, but there was a hint of something in his voice. Wait, was he smiling? She opened her mouth, but Hunk held up a hand.

"We all know, Pidge," he told her. "You two are terrible at hiding it. Plus, there are cameras everywhere."

Katie laughed nervously, scratching the back of her head. She'd totally forgotten about that. She turned her attention back to the scene in front of her, melting all over again when Lance picked up an Arusian and swung him around.

Yeah, she'd struck gold with him.


	7. It Finally Happens

Katie felt…awkward to say the least.

Lance was by her side, one of his hands absentmindedly rubbing circles into her shoulder as he looked over her screen. It wasn't him that she minded, oh no. It was everyone staring at them.

She held in a sigh, continuing on with her work on the Galra finder. Hunk had said that everyone knew— he even said that it seemed everyone approved. But from their stares, she wasn't so sure.

Maybe it would just take them a while, she told herself. Quiznak, it took _her_ some time to get used to it, too. Was it really so strange, though? She and Lance had always been close…but she supposed that this was rather different from their normal banter and high fives.

Her laptop pinged, and Katie cleared her throat. "The ship is staying in the beta quadrant hiding behind this planet," she said as she made a hologram appear. The map showed the planet she referred to, as well as the stray Galra ship's location. They'd received a sighting a few vargas ago, but they almost didn't believe it until Katie found some radio chatter to back up the claim.

"How is this possible?" Allura asked, sounding frustrated.

Coran shrugged. "Guess this straggler got left behind at their post. Even they may not know what's happened."

"Doubtful, the Galra's communication systems were top notch," Shiro hummed.

Keith scoffed, "They were probably cowards. Didn't wanna get in the fight."

"Uhhh, can you blame them?" Hunk remarked. "We didn't exactly go easy on the rest of their people."

"And for a good reason," Lance muttered quietly, so that only Katie could hear.

She smirked a little, then refocused on the hologram. "Our best point of entry would be here-" she pointed, "-from behind this asteroid belt. It's pretty stable, so navigating it won't be a challenge."

"Need cloaking?" Matt suggested.

Katie shook her head. "Not likely. The light from the nearest star reflects off the dust created by the astroid belt— they won't see us coming with that glare."

"You genius," Lance said affectionately, squeezing her shoulder.

There was an awkward silence, and everyone blinked simultaneously at them. Katie wanted to groan out loud. Seriously? What was so weird about that? Why are they all reacting this way?

Finally, Shiro cleared his throat and nodded. "Then it's settled," he said. "Allura, Coran— get us to that planet. Everyone else? Suit up and get to your lions. Keith and Lance, switch back to your originals. I'll take Black this time."

A combination of "yes, sir!" and "on it!" rang throughout the room, and everyone set about their business. Katie shut down the hologram and got up from her chair, not at all surprised when Lance took her hand.

"You know, I've been thinking," he started as they walked down the hall, "do you think Blue will accept me? I mean, I know we've been doing this whole switch-back-and-forth thing for a while now, but sometimes she's fussy."

Katie laughed, pushing the button to enter the room where they kept their armor. She reached up and grabbed her black under suit. "It'll be fine, Lance. But if it would help, then I'll come with you."

"Really?!"

"Yes," she chuckled, walking into the room off to the side to get changed. She popped out a minute later, noticing how Lance stared at her for a moment and then turned away, blushing. "Saw that," she teased.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered bashfully. They put on their armor, all except for their helmets, then turned back to one another. Lance stepped forward and took her hands in his. "I'm just glad Keith and Hunk aren't here yet," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She frowned. "Yeah, where are they?"

"Doing important stuff, I'm sure," Lance waved it off. "Come on— let's go visit Blue!"

Katie laughed again, allowing herself to be dragged along by her enthusiastic boyfriend. She could remember her last encounter with Blue like it was yesterday. The day after their first date, her and Lance had decided that they needed to inform Red and Blue of their latest development. Red had welcomed her warmly— if not a bit hesitantly at first. But Blue— well, Blue was over the moon. Lance had blushed bright red, stuttering out something along the lines of "talked to her about you a lot…always tried to get me to tell you…"

As they drew near Blue's hangar, Katie felt one of the new doors at the back of her mind open up. It was weird…her and Lance still hadn't figured it out entirely. These new bonds seemed to be controlled by the lions, not themselves. Only the lions could decide when it was open and when it was not. In the end, her and Lance shrugged it off. Stranger things had happened, and the magical powers of the lions weren't to be questioned.

The moment they entered the hangar, Katie chuckled. Blue had her barrier up, and her side of the bond was exuding loads of annoyance at Lance.

"Oh, come on, Blue!" Lance groaned. "What do you mean I haven't been seeing you enough? I spent all day yesterday washing you!"

"Yeah, but then you left early to see Red," Katie reminded him. "Blue doesn't like feeling like she comes in second place."

Lance frowned, walking up to the barrier and placing a gentle hand against it. "I'm sorry, girl, I didn't mean it like that. I guess I have too many ladies vying for my attention these days," he chuckled, giving Katie a fond look. She gave him an encouraging smile.

He turned back to look up at Blue. "Will you forgive me, girl?"

Blue's eyes twinkled, and there was a soft growl. The barrier came down, and Lance sighed with relief.

"I still don't understand how you get my lion more than I do," Lance told Katie, shaking his head.

Katie smirked. "Female intuition. Now listen, I've gotta get going—" she said, grasping his hands in hers. "I'll be fine, okay?"

Lance gave her a nervous smile. "Well of course you will. What made you think I was worried?"

"Your emotions are pouring over the bond," she told him, and he winced. Katie sighed, getting up on her tiptoes and cupping his face. "I'm going to be fine," she said firmly. "And if I'm not, then I know you'll save me."

Lance's worried eyes suddenly turned fiery with determination. "One hundred percent," he stated. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, and she responded by kissing his cheek. When her lips left his skin, they brushed close to his, and she swore both of them sighed wistfully.

"I'll see you on the comms," she whispered.

He nodded silently, and she had the feeling it was because his voice wouldn't cooperate if he tried to speak. She squeezed his hands one final time, then forced herself to walk away. The second the door shut behind her, she felt Blue cut off the bond. She sighed with relief, holding a hand to her heart. Lance's anxiety had been so overwhelming, she nearly couldn't stop herself from holding onto him and never letting go.

By the time Katie arrived at Green's hangar a few minutes later, though, she was grinning ear to ear. Green had felt her distress and decided to send her all the happy vibes she could. She knew her lion had been getting a little stir crazy lately, and this mission was just what the daring duo needed!

The comm line crackled, and Katie put her helmet on just in time to hear Shiro ask, "Paladins, are you ready?"

Katie all but ran into the cockpit, hopping into her seat and calling, "Ready!"  
Green rumbled happily, and Katie grinned. "Let's go, girl!"

Green roared, and they were off. Racing through the inky darkness of space, swerving to avoid each astroid that was in their way. Katie was vaguely aware of the other lions— particularly, Blue— by her side, but she focused on her own. If she was honest, she'd missed this. Not the war, but the feeling of being one with your lion, flying along and feeling like you'll never have to slow down.

There was a sad purr, and Katie patted the handles. "I know, we'll have to get out more," she thought aloud. "Maybe we could take a day trip to Olkarion with Lance and Blue?"

 _Head in the clouds, my Paladin?_

Katie blushed, squinting her eyes into the distance to try to focus. "Let's talk about my love life after the fight, okay?"

There was an amused rumble, and Katie let out a breath, knowing that the subject had been dropped. They came to a gentle stop on an asteroid, and Katie took in the view. Sure enough, just as they'd thought— a Galra ship was there, lurking at the side of a small purple planet.

"Everyone have a visual?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah," they replied, before Keith asked, "What's our play?"

Shiro came up on her screen, looking hesitant. "Pidge, are you absolutely sure we shouldn't use cloaking? This astroid dust doesn't seem bright like you said."

"The rays from the star refract and cause the glare only at a certain angle, and we're facing opposite of that angle," she rattled off. "They shouldn't see us coming."

Nodding, Shiro said, "Alright team, we'll go in with our lions. Keith, you rig an explosion on the main engine. The rest of us will distract and disable. Understood?"

"Got it!" they shouted.

The comm screen disappeared, and Katie tightened her grip on the handles. "Ready girl?"

 _Always, my Paladin._

Katie let out an excited whoop, and with one punch forward, they were headed into battle. All was still for a moment, and she grinned, knowing that her theory had been right. But then—

 _PEW PEW PEW_

She gasped, directing Green into a barrel roll to avoid the shots. Where had those come from? Katie turned them upright, and her heart stopped.

An entire Galran fleet was raining down on them in droves. They were everywhere— left, right, above, below. There seemed to be no end.

"Shiro!" Hunk shouted. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Shiro said, then grunted when a blast hit him. "Keith- forget the explosions! We've got to— agh!"

The scene turned to chaos before her eyes. The Galran ships were firing at them every which way, and that's when she noticed it— the angle they were coming at was forty five degrees adjacent to them, not parallel like she predicted.

Her eyes widened in horror. She'd made a miscalculation.

"Katie!"

Lance's voice brought her out of her daze, and she shook her head. "Yes?"

"Get moving!" he shouted, and she suddenly realized that he'd been blocking hits with his lion in front of hers the whole time. Blue turned around, eyes twinkling. "Go! Go! Go!"

In a flash, she shifted the gear around and blasted off the asteroid. As she rushed in toward the center of the battle, it was all she could manage to avoid the constant barrage coming from the Galran fighters. Then finally, she found a clearing.

Katie spun Green around, thrust her bayard in, and unleashed a rain of their organic rays. Green held out a steady stream, hitting fighter after fighter all in a line. Grunting at the exertion, Katie forced herself to hold the bayard in. Just a few more seconds, and there'd be a clear path for the others to fly through…in three, two, one!

She pulled the bayard out, breathing heavily. She patted the control panel. "Good girl," she panted. "Now come on, let's get back to everyone els-"

 _SCHHZOOM_

Katie screamed, flying forward out of her seat at the impact force of the blast. Her helmet fell off mid flight, bouncing against the floor. She heard a loud crack, then static. Then—

 _tssssssssss_

Her eyes flashed open in a panic. No, no, no, no, it couldn't be—

She pushed herself up from the ground, gazing up at the control panel in horror.

The oxygen tank had been hit.

* * *

Lance was whipping around as fast as he could, Hunk on his right providing protection and Keith on his left setting fire to anything Galran in sight. Lance fired off a few more rounds of his laser, each one hitting their intended target perfectly. He was in the zone, focused on the mission and nothing else, not even his _querida_ Katie. Maybe that's why he nearly keeled over when the door at the back of his mind slammed open.

 _You must come here! My paladin is hurt!_

Panic from an outside source was flooding through, and Lance stilled when he realized who it was.

 _Green, what's wrong?! Tell me!_

 _We were hit— my Paladin forgot to strap in— her helmet is damaged— the cockpit is depressurizing— PLEASE HELP._

His heart twisted painfully. He knew it! He knew this would happen eventually! They'd seen him protecting her earlier— they'd targeted her, _his_ Katie, they'd—

A fury like he'd never experienced before seized hold of him.

 _Get her back to the Castle, **now.**_

He felt Green nod, and he pushed the button to comm Shiro. The leader appeared on the screen, looking confused.

"Lance, wha-"

"Katie's been hit," Lance said through gritted teeth. "I told Green to take her back, but you have to go with her to get her out once they land. The cockpit is depressurizing, and she won't last longer than three minutes."

Shiro mastered his confusion into a solemn nod. "I'll go, but you should come too. Paladins," he said, opening up the channel to the others, "Fall back, Pidge has been hit-"

"No," Lance ground out. "I'm staying. They're gonna _pay_."

He didn't wait for a response, charging forward and shooting every purple ship he saw. One hit, three more. Two in one shot, then another. He didn't stop— couldn't stop, not until every single one was down. Not until they knew what happened when you messed with his girl.

Lance knew he was out of control. He knew he had to stop, think rationally and get into formation to finish the job. But then, the image of Katie wheezing on the ground for lack of oxygen filled his brain, and he began firing even more relentlessly. He wanted to make sure every last Galran was dead. Quiznak, he'd infiltrate the ship himself to make sure of it. He'd—

"Lance, get out of there!" Hunk shouted. "Keith's rigged the bomb— let's go!"

He came to a full halt, his chest rising and falling rapidly. This anger— _his_ anger— wouldn't change anything. And Katie was waiting for him, back on the ship— but what if she wasn't? What if she wasn't okay? What if she hadn't made it?

Hunk's words registered in his mind, and Lance shook his head. He _had_ to get back and make sure she was okay.

"Coming," he panted.

Hunk and Keith were waiting for him on the outside of the blast zone. He didn't need to see their faces to know that they were shocked at his rage. Lance was too.

The blast of Keith's bomb echoed hollowly as they flew away, and Lance found that it gave him no comfort.

The second he landed, he ran. He ran and ran and ran, one thought and one thought only on his mind: Katie.

When he finally stepped into the pod chamber, his heart stopped. One of the pods was up, sealed shut and frosted over. Shiro was there, talking softly with Coran. They looked up as he entered.

"She got back just in time," Shiro told him, but it all sounded fuzzy in Lance's ears. "Her oxygen levels were nearly depleted. We…we think she'll be okay after a few days."

And that's when he broke.

A gut-wrenching sob found its way up Lance's throat, and he dropped to his knees. He was surrounded immediately— Hunk rubbed his shoulder, Shiro was in front of him mumbling words about how it was going to be alright, Allura rubbed his back, Keith placed a hand on his other shoulder, Matt hugged him, and Coran bowed his head solemnly.

The tears poured down, and even as his family surrounded him, Lance couldn't stop whispering, _"Por favor, Dios, por favor…"_


	8. Realizing It

The past few days were agony. Every morning, Lance would get up from his sleepless night and hurry down to the pod chamber to check on Katie. He'd sit there until someone would pull him away, try to get him to eat, try to distract him. He appreciated what they were trying to do, and he'd play along. He'd manage a smile or two, and yesterday he'd even been able to make a lackluster pun.

Today was the day, though. He'd been pacing all day long, and not even Hunk could get him to stop. They were opening her pod after dinner, and waiting was torture. No matter how hard he tried to keep himself busy, he kept finding himself back in the pod chamber staring at her.

Maybe it was his subconscious leading him there. Maybe it was Red's concern, ebbing and flowing in gentle waves. Maybe it was Blue's anxious prodding, pushing him to check up on her just one more time. Maybe it was Green's warm reassurance, telling him that she would walk out totally fine. Maybe it was the fact that without Katie smiling by his side, he felt completely and utterly lost as to what he should do.

But it was finally time, and Lance felt like he was going to be sick. Keith gave him a pitying look as they walked down from dinner (where Lance had eaten nothing), and Lance turned away. He couldn't stand pity. He just wanted everything to be fine. He just wanted his Katie back.

Coran went up to the pod, and Lance sucked in a sharp breath. Hunk put a hand on his shoulder. Tears were stinging the corner of Lance's eyes.

 _Por favor, Dios…_

The pod opened with a hiss, and a thousand thoughts hit him all at once.

What if she wasn't okay? What if her oxygen levels had never returned to normal? What if she'd hit her head in the blast? None of them had ever experienced something like this before— what if the pod hadn't been able to fix it?

His heart was racing, his mouth was dry, and he couldn't breathe.

Then—

A pale hand reached out from the mist.

Lance lunged forward, grabbing hold of Katie before she hit the floor. She fell against him like a rag doll, and he adjusted his hold to account for all of her weight. She wasn't moving.

 _"Querida?"_ he breathed.

A shift, then— she was blinking up at him blearily, her nose wrinkled in confusion. "…Lance?" she whispered hoarsely.

He couldn't hold the tears back anymore. He held her close and wept, not caring that everyone else was there watching. Moments passed, and he felt Katie's arms wind around his waist and tighten firmly.

"I'm here, sweetheart," she said, and he cried even harder when the endearment slipped off her tongue. She'd never called him that before. One of her hands was carding through his hair. "Shhh, I'm okay, it's okay, I'm fine—"

His tears came to a stop slowly, and by the time he was able to see, he realized that everyone was staring at them. But it wasn't like they had been the other day— no, he'd felt that, and it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

They were gazing at him and Katie softly, almost like they were in a daze. Keith and Hunk were smiling gently. Shiro's arms were crossed contentedly, and Coran was sniffling. Allura had tears in her eyes, and Matt was at her side wiping his own away.

Lance and Katie's eyes met, and they smiled. "If you couldn't tell, we missed you a lot," Lance joked, even though his voice still sounded raw with emotion.

Her eyes trailed back to their adopted family. "I could tell," she hummed, then said louder, "What are you guys waiting for? I want my mandatory post-crisis group hug."

There was a quiet laugh that ran through the group, and they did as they were told. The hug lasted much longer than their usual one— maybe because there were so many things to celebrate all at once.

When they let go, Hunk's eyes were bright. "Pidge, I'm honestly so glad you're back, Lance has been impossible these past few days-"

"Hey!" Lance exclaimed.

Katie laughed, and Lance blushed bright red when she leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I'm sure he has been," she teased adoringly.

"I thought he was going to pace a dent into the floors," Allura joked lightly.

"And I thought he was gonna pass out on the way down here," Keith commented.

"Okay! Okay!" Lance cut in, his ears burning. "We get it, I've been a mess without Katie."

Shiro chuckled. "That's an understatement."

Everyone shared a laugh, and Lance couldn't help but laugh along too. Katie found his hand, and they squeezed at the same time.

"You never did explain how you knew Pidge was in trouble," Shiro reminded him.

"Yeah, how did you do that?" Hunk questioned.

Lance looked down at Katie, their eyes silently communicating all they needed to say. Katie nodded subtly, then looked back at their expectant audience.

"When we got back, Green found out about us on accident," Katie explained. "She wanted to approve of Lance, so I brought him into the cockpit. From there, it's…" she trailed off, glancing up at Lance. "…it's kinda difficult to explain."

Coran snapped his fingers. "She opened up a bond to assess his heart, didn't she?"

Katie nodded, now leaning into Lance. He wrapped his arms around her as she said, "That's basically it. We repeated the same thing with Red and Blue the next day so that they could approve of me. Since then, we've been connected to each other's lions."

Hunk frowned. "Wait, then can you two talk through your bond?"

"Only if the lion opens it between us," Lance answered.

Keith raised an eyebrow. "So why can't I talk to you guys? I'm connected to Red, too."

Katie replied to this one. "We've figured out that the lions control when the bond is open and when it is closed. We can't open it if we want." Her eyes trailed up to Lance's. "I'm guessing when I got hit, Green told you?"

He nodded. "I wouldn't have known otherwise." She frowned at the bittersweet tone in his voice, taking a brief moment to rub his back in a way that meant more to him than she could possibly know.

Shiro was crossing his arms now. "I still don't understand it. How-"

"Look, can we explain this when I'm not on the verge of falling asleep?" Katie yawned. Lance wasn't surprised at her snappy answer. She'd been slowly leaning into him more and more over the past few minutes.

Eyes understanding, Shiro nodded. "Of course. Go get some rest, okay?"

Katie nodded, and Lance began to lead her out. They walked down the hallway in a content silence, and Lance felt his heart tighten happily. Finally, all was well again.

When they reached her room, he pressed the button for the door to open. She turned to face him, and he melted a little. She looked so tired, and so sweet, and he'd missed her so much, and before he knew what he was doing, he was cupping her face and leaning in.

"Lance? Lance?"

He blinked. She was looking up at him sleepily, her head tilted to the side.

Then he blushed. Had he really just nearly kissed her?

"Y-Yes?" he stuttered.

"I, um…" she started, looking down at the floor. "I can't thank you enough for saving me. Well, you and Green, but-"

Lance pulled her into a hug. "I'd do it again a thousand times," he whispered. "I will always be there to save you, _querida_."

She nodded against his chest, and he forced himself to let her go, pressing a kiss to her forehead as he did so. "Now, sleep well, okay?"

"I will," she smiled softly. "Goodnight, Lance."

His first true smile of the past few days emerged. "Goodnight, Katie."

* * *

To be fair, if she'd had enough oxygen in her body for her brain to work properly, she would've seen it coming.

But no, in her recovering state, Katie couldn't figure out what that banging sound was. It woke her up, she knew that much. How long had she been sleeping, anyways? A look at her alarm clock told her that it was 2:07am. Why would there be a banging sound at 2:07am?

"Katie?"

Ohh, that's why. It was Lance.

Katie climbed out of bed slowly, shivering the second she left her warm cocoon. She shuffled over to the door and pushed the button, looking up at her boyfriend knowingly.

"Nightmares?" she asked. He just nodded. "Come on," she said gently, taking his hand and leading him to her bed without hesitation.

"Lie down," she instructed, and he did as he was told. Katie turned to grab an extra blanket from her closet, and when she turned back, her heart broke.

His face was blank, but his eyes were filled with fear. His entire body was curled in on itself. He was holding her comforter close to his face, trembling as he stared off into space.

Eyes soft, Katie climbed into the bed beside him, curling up into his side. Lance shifted numbly and draped an arm around her waist. His eyes wouldn't meet hers, and she knew then that it must have been bad.

She waited a few moments before she said, "So what was it about?"

His lip quivered, and she smoothed a thumb over his cheek. "Shh, it's okay," she soothed. "Take your time."

Lance took in a shaky breath.

"There you go," Katie hummed. "Just keep breathing, and when you feel okay, you can tell me."

Minutes passed by, consumed by the sound of Lance taking in one shivering breath after another. Finally, he looked into her eyes, and she nearly cried at the haunted look in them.

"It was you," he choked out. "It was you, Katie. I-I was…I was too late," he sobbed, tears spilling over. "I couldn't save you, and you were g-gone, and—"

"Okay, okay," she stopped him gently. "I get it. You don't have to say any more."

For the second time that day, she held him tight, not caring that her favorite t-shirt was getting soaked in tears. They'd all been through hell in this war, and they all dealt with it differently. Keith would fight the Gladiator for hours. Hunk would bake. Shiro would stare out at the stars. Matt would make jokes. Allura would reminisce about her father. Coran would tell them stories.

This was how Lance dealt with things. He would laugh it off for a time, then let it all come crashing down all at once.

She felt guilty, in a way. This time, it was all her fault. He was crying over her. She'd caused this pain.

Katie held him closer, nuzzling into his chest. His sobs had quieted down to hiccups now, and she ran a hand over his back. One circle on his shoulder, then another. His breath was warm on her ear, and she listened as it slowly settled down to normal.

She swallowed. What did she say? What _could_ she say? The possibility of either of them dying out here was very real. They'd been more than lucky the past four years, and they knew it. What could anyone say, really?

Thankfully, Lance always knew the answer to that.

"I'd never been more scared in my life," he told her, his voice small. "Green told me what was going on, but then— I was just," she felt his hands fist her t-shirt. "I was so _angry_. I thought I could take all of them on myself, make them realize they should never mess with you, but…"

"But it wouldn't change what had already happened," she finished for him.

Lance's eyes widened in surprise that she knew, and he nodded slowly. "You…Katie, I don't know if you know how much you mean to me," he whispered. "You are everything to me—"

"Everything?" she teased.

"Everything," he nodded. "And you're gorgeous—"

"Debatable."

"-and crazy smart-"

"Well, we knew that one."

"And it's really cute how you can't take a compliment," he laughed, and she blushed. Lance squeezed her gently. "You are everything I could've ever wanted and more," he continued. "I felt so empty without you these past few days. You weren't there to keep me going, you know? I'm so dependent on you, I hardly realized it until you weren't there."

Guilt twinged in her heart. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Lance practically sat straight up now. "For what?"

She shrugged. "I don't know…I don't like the fact that anything that happens to me affects you so much. I don't want you to hurt because of me."

He settled back down next to her, leaning over and kissing her forehead sweetly. "That's what it's all about, Katie…you are the one person I can't imagine being without."

"What about Hunk?" she suggested.

Lance snorted. "He's great, but you're cuter. And well…" he trailed off, and she saw him swallow nervously. "There is something else that separates you from all the rest."

She raised a curious eyebrow at him.

He looked away, blushing. "A-And I know you already know this because, well, Green kinda gave it away when we first connected," he rambled. But then, his face was serious, and his eyes were gazing into hers, and she felt her heart rate pick up.

"But Katie Holt, I love you."

She froze, and he continued on, not noticing her reaction because he was looking away bashfully. "I-I mean, you knew that, right? But I just wanted to say it, because it's true, and—"

Of course. It all made sense now. That's what all of this was called: love. She'd been searching for the right word for weeks now, but she could never find it. She'd tried admiration, enamored, infatuated, but now— it was love. _She_ was in love. With him.

"-and I know all of this has been very fast, but I really do, I love you so much that it hurts, and—"

Her eyes widened. How stupid was she? How did it take her all this time to realize it? She'd been in love with him for, quiznak, who knows how long!

"-and I don't want you to feel pressured or anything to say it back yet, because I know that I've been in love with you for much longer, but I—"

A warm tingly feeling spread through her body, and she couldn't help but smile because he was still talking and she felt so overwhelmed and happy and before she knew what she was doing, she cupped his face and pressed her lips against his.

She knew it wasn't the right timing. She knew that it was literally almost three in the morning by now. She knew that he had just been crying. She knew that her hair was a mess. She knew that this was literally the least romantic setting in the world for her— for _their_ — first kiss.

But man, did it feel so _right._

His lips were soft, she noticed happily. Soft, and still against her own. For a moment, she worried she'd done it wrong, but then he held her tight and angled his head.

 _Oh._

That's what it felt like. It was blissful, his lips moving slowly against hers. She unwittingly let out a sigh, her hands searching to get tangled in his dark locks. His hands were wrapped around her waist, and even though they were as close as they could get, it still didn't feel like enough.

Katie didn't want it to end…but she did want to say something.

So her lips left his, and her eyes fluttered open. She knew she was smiling like an idiot, but that smile grew even more when she saw how wide Lance's beautiful blue eyes were. She leaned in and pecked his lips once more, unable to resist.

"I love you too," she confessed, her breath brushing against his skin.

"Y-You do?" he squeaked.

Katie burst out laughing, falling back onto his chest and nuzzling into him. "Of course I do, silly," she giggled. "I wouldn't have kissed you otherwise."

Suddenly, Lance was swooping down to capture her lips again, and this time, he wasn't still. She could feel it— all of his emotions pouring over, even without the bond open.

When they parted, Lance leaned up and kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much," he whispered, and she could see now that his eyes were glassy.

She reached up and pulled his face down gently, kissing his lips once more because honestly, she couldn't get enough.

"I love you too."


	9. Moving On

"How much you wanna bet he's gonna cry?"

"Nah, he hated us."

"Uh, excuse me, but Iverson hated _you_. I was at the top of my class."

"Yeah, but he did call all of us out when we failed the simulator."

"Hey, let's not forget that he very specifically told me not to be like Keith-"

"Wait, seriously?!"

"That reminds me-" Katie cut in as Lance was laughing at Keith's expression. "What _did_ you do to get kicked out of the Garrison?"

Keith flicked his hair out of his eyes. "Nothing bad."

"Which probably means something bad," Hunk teased.

"It was," Shiro confirmed. "I couldn't believe it myself when he told me."

Lance raised an eyebrow, continuously swinging his and Katie's joined hands back and forth as they made their way down the hall to the main offices. "So?" he questioned. "Just tell us already!"

Rolling his eyes, Keith said, "Well, it was October, and I thought that since it was Halloween, I could—"

"Holt! Kogane! McClain! Garrett! Get in here!"

The group gulped, and Shiro chuckled. "Good luck, you guys. We'll meet back at the Castle after you register for your classes—"

"If we get in," Keith interrupted.

"Are you kidding?" Lance asked. "Of course we'll get in!"

"Yeah, can you imagine them not admitting the literal defenders of the universe?" Katie added on.

"Insane," Lance nodded.

"Unimaginable!" Katie exclaimed.

Lance grinned, pulling Katie nose to nose. "Incomprehensible."

She giggled. "Inconceivable-"

"Can you two be cute some other time?" Hunk cut in. "Iverson called us back there, like, two decapheebs ago."

Katie cleared her throat suddenly. "Right, sorry."

"No need to apologize," Shiro said, smiling softly. "I'll see you guys after."

The younger paladins shouted out their farewells, then took in a collective deep breath.

"Let's do this," Lance said decisively. Katie squeezed his hand, and he smiled. Never did he think this day would come.

Well, he did think that he would eventually come back to the Garrison, but not with a beautiful girlfriend on one side and his brothers in arms on the other…wow, weird how things turned out so great.

The group walked into the office in sync, heads high and shoulders back. They were no longer the flunkies of the Garrison. They were the defenders of the universe, and they were going to live up to that title.

Iverson didn't spare them a glance when they walked in. Lance sat beside Katie, with Hunk and Keith on his left. He figured he should let go of her hand for propriety's sake, but screw that. He wasn't scared of his professor anymore.

When Iverson finally turned around, Lance had to hold in a gasp. Years had worn him down, and he no longer had that stern look in his eyes. Instead, there was understanding and compassion.

"I can't tell you how good it is to see you lot again," he told them, a bittersweet tone in his voice. "We thought you were gone for good. Held a memorial service four years ago. You'll find your names on a plaque down the hall."

Lance heard Katie take in a shaky breath, and his squeezed her hand. Iverson's eyes darted toward their connected hands, and he smiled.

"I see things have worked out better than expected?" Iverson asked.

He knew he should've blushed, but all Lance could do was look over at Katie lovingly. "Definitely, sir."

Iverson nodded. "I'm glad," he said, then let out a sigh. "I blamed myself for your disappearances for years. I thought that…maybe it was my harsh words that made you go rogue. Now—" he stated, looking them firmly in the eyes. "I see that I was just a cog in the great machine pushing you toward something better. I am honored to have played such a role."

"And we were honored to be under your instruction, Professor," Keith replied succinctly. "Which is why we'd like to be reinstated."

Iverson's eyes widened. "You- you what?"

"I never finished my engineering program," Hunk told him.

"Same with my communications program," Katie added on.

Lance nodded, "And I want to complete my fighter pilot training."

Iverson stood from his desk slowly, turning and staring thoughtfully out the window. "And here I thought this was just a friendly visit," he hummed. His eyes flickered over to the group. "Are you sure about this decision? It won't be easy to get you back in this close to the first day of classes, but I think I could pull some strings."

The group shared a look, then nodded.

"We're sure, Professor," Keith stated, grinning. "We just might need a few days off every now and then to check on our lions."

"And do checks on the coalition planets," Katie piped up, and Lance smiled proudly.

Iverson chuckled. "I think we can make it work. Cadets—" he said, and they all rose and snapped into a salute. "Welcome back to the Garrison."

"We're glad to be back, sir," Lance spoke for everyone.

Still smiling, Iverson sat back down in his chair. "Well, you know where to go—" he said, gesturing out the door. "Fill out your registration forms and bring them back to me for approval, asap."

They nodded, hands coming down from their salute almost perfectly in sync, before they filed out the door. Lance could feel the pent up excitement buzzing between them, and the second Iverson's office door closed behind them, they all broke out into cheers.

"I can't believe we get to come back!" Hunk laughed, gathering everyone in his arms for a hug.

"It's like a dream come true!" Katie giggled, giving Lance a look that made him wish no one else was around. He settled for kissing her on the cheek, and he caught Keith smiling at them out of the corner of his eye.

"I wouldn't want to be here with anyone else," Keith told them, and Hunk squeezed them all tighter.

Lance laughed, "Come on, let's get to registration!" Katie grabbed his hand, and the group set off down the hallway.

"I can't believe this," she whispered breathlessly. "I mean, it's just-"

"Inconceivable?" he finished for her.

Katie burst out laughing, completely giddy with excitement. "I like teaching you new words— you make them sound good."

Lance opened his mouth to make a smooth reply, but Keith was punching him in the shoulder before he could.

"I'm gonna have to ask that you two keep the flirting to a minimum," he said with an eye roll. "It's been driving me crazy lately."

Katie gave him a look. "We'll stop flirting when you stop moping about that girl you met back in-"

 _"Anyways,"_ Keith cut in, his face starting to flush red. "Let's get to registration, okay?"

Their resident half-Galran picked up the pace, walking ahead of the group by a good length.

Hunk cast Katie a look. "Do you think-?"

"Nah, he'll be fine," Lance assured him. "I heard him talking with her on the phone the other night. They're trying to figure out when they can see each other soon."

"Good for him," Hunk nodded.

Lance felt Katie shift, and he snickered, already knowing what she would say.

"And what about you and Shaaaay?" she asked with high eyebrows.

Hunk laughed nervously. "You know what, I'm gonna go catch up with Keith, see you guys down the hall-"

Lance and Katie burst out laughing the second Hunk turned the corner.

"You're gonna get us in trouble, Miss Holt," Lance teased.

She snorted. "Nah, that'll be you, dragging us out on another one of your bonding adventures."

Rolling his eyes, Lance took a quick glance around. No one was in sight, which meant-

He spun around and pressed his lips against hers, enjoying how she gave a squeak of surprise before she melted into his arms. Lance nearly let a gleeful moan slip out. Kissing her would never get old.

"I can't believe you," she giggled when their lips parted. "You know the Garrison rules on public displays of affection!"

"And you know that I love to bend the rules," he chuckled, pecking her on the lips one last time. "Come on— they'll start getting suspicious if we're gone too long."

She was shaking her head at him, and he managed a kiss on her head before she dragged him down the hall.

* * *

"Wow, and I thought my room was a mess."

Katie spun around and grinned, immediately bouncing over and grabbing her brother in a hug. "You made it!"

"At ease, cadet," Matt teased as he ruffled her hair. "Just thought I'd swing by and see how things are going in your dorm."

"Well," Katie huffed tiredly, "I set up my computer first-"

"Naturally."

"-and I got distracted trying to get through their firewalls-"

"Because why not."

"-and then Lance came by and was appalled that he'd been gone for two hours and all I'd done was sit at my computer," she snorted. "He helped me set up everything else, and now I'm trying to put my clothes in the closet— color coded, of course, because what are we-"

"Animals?" the Holt siblings said together before they snorted in laughter.

Matt shook his head and fell back onto her bed. Katie considered asking him to take his shoes off, but rolled her eyes and got back to work. It was quiet for a few minutes, and it was kinda nice. After being separated for so long, you'd think that the Holts talked constantly, but it was actually the opposite. The silence was weirdly reassuring, just listening to each other softly breathing across the room and having the knowledge that they were safe and sound.

Then finally, Matt broke the silence. "Pidge, can I ask you something?"

Katie blinked at the serious tone in her brother's voice, but shrugged. "Sure."

He sat up, his honey eyes staring into hers. "Do you love Lance?"

She blushed immediately, but there was also a little smile that came onto her face— the one that always happened inadvertently whenever anyone mentioned Lance. "Of course I do. I thought I already told you about that weeks ago."

"You did," Matt said contemplatively. "But I was just curious. I feel like I haven't been the protective big brother I should be."

Katie's head tilted. "What do you mean?"

Her brother threw his hands up into the air dramatically. "I don't know— I should've interrogated him or something!"

Katie doubled over in laughter. "Matt, I don't think you could interrogate him even if you tried," she joked, and he harrumphed. She walked over to the bed and sat next to him.

"Me and Lance are doing just fine," she told him honestly. "He treats me so kindly, and I've actually been thinking about when I can introduce him to mom."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Sounds serious, then."

The blush returned, and Katie's eyes flickered around her room. "I mean…serious is a funny concept when it comes to Lance. He's never a hundred percent serious about anything except-" she stopped, smiling softly.

"Except what?" her brother prompted.

"Except me," she admitted shyly. "Really, Matt, there's nothing to be worried about."

Matt stood up suddenly. "Oh no, I haven't been worried about him since you had to go in the cryo-pod." He was pacing now, his hands clasped behind his back.

Katie gave him a confused look. "Then what's the problem?"

He froze, scratching the back of his head bashfully, and suddenly, it clicked in her mind. "Ohh, this isn't about me and Lance— it's about you and Allura, isn't it!"

"Katieeeee," he whined, ears turning red.

She cackled, clapping her hands together. "I knew it! You're trying to figure out if you love her, right? That's why you asked if I loved Lance."

"I hate your deductive skills," Matt muttered, and Katie gave him a knowing look. "Fine! Yes! You're right! I just…" he trailed off, staring out into space. "…how do you _know_?"

Katie's eyes wandered over to a picture of her and Lance that she'd put on her desk. "I don't know," she said, and her brother's head snapped up in confusion. Katie laughed, "You just know all of the sudden…it's kinda hard to explain. I think it happens over time, and then it hits you— you couldn't imagine life without them."

Matt nodded slowly, then sighed. "But how do you tell them? With Lance it must have been easy, because you knew how he felt…with Allura," he chuckled, shaking his head fondly. "Sometimes I think she likes me, then other times I honestly can't tell."

She hummed. "Yeah, I think that's just how she is. Quiznak, that's how I was with Lance for ages."

Groaning, Matt covered his face with his hands. _"Women."_

Katie burst out laughing, hopping up and smacking him on the arm. "You'll figure it out eventually," she told him. "But for now, I need you to get out of my room. Lance is coming back soon, and I don't want that neat freak seeing this mess."

His eyes grew stern. "Now, now, young lady, you know the Garrison rules. No boys in your room-"

"Oh shut it, _Professor_ ," she mocked. "I'll see you in the mess hall later."

Matt rolled his eyes, but gave her a smile before he shut the door behind him. She smiled and shook her head, making her way back over to her dorm closet and hanging up another shirt. They'd been kind enough to give each of the Paladins rooms meant for seniors, and when Keith and Hunk had started to protest, Katie and Lance were quick to cover their mouths with their hands.

She looked around her room with a smile. It was nice having a little place to herself, but she still missed her room on the ship. Leaving had been rough, especially since she felt Green pawing at the back of her mind the entire way. Katie and Lance had promised their lions that they would be back on the weekends, though, and hopefully they'd be able to sneak out for a few extended flights.

Some sadness started creeping into her heart, and Katie pushed it away. She should be happy. The war was over. She had Lance. She was at the Garrison. But still…

Katie sighed, sitting down on the floor and staring up at the ceiling blankly.

It was weird. It all felt like a dream— a nice one, sure, but the kind that would end with her waking up and wondering why everything had seemed so real.

She shut her eyes and started counting a steady rhythm. One, two, three, one two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three. It brought her back to the night at the ball, that lovely night when Lance told her how he felt.

Katie giggled to herself, remembering how much he stuttered, how red he'd gotten, and then the shock on his face when she'd said she'd give it a chance. And look at them now— sneaking a kiss in the Garrison hallways. Amazing how far they'd come, she realized.

Suddenly, there was a knock.

 _"Querida?"_ a sing-songy voice came through the door. "I found that picture you wanted!"

Katie grinned as she got up from the floor to answer the door. Yeah, things had turned out fine…she just needed time to accept it all.


	10. Balancing Life

The second Katie opened the door, she was met with a blinding smile.

"Good morning, my little ray of sunshine!" Lance greeted cheerfully.

She raised an eyebrow, glancing at Hunk suspiciously. "That's a new one. What's got you so smiley this morning?"

He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her to his side. "Can't I smile because I'm happy?"

"Keith slipped in the bathroom," Hunk supplied helpfully.

Katie gasped, turning toward Lance with wide eyes. "Did you get pictures?"

"No," he pouted as they entered the mess hall. "I'll get pictures next time, though. What's your schedule for today?"

"Mmm, advanced calculus first," she started, picking up a tray and getting in line. "After that, history of communication, sub-atomic theory lecture, and radio techniques. Oh, and PE," she said, sticking her tongue out.

She expected Lance to look amused, but instead, he looked sad. "So basically, we have no classes together this semester," he sighed.

Katie frowned and placed a gentle hand on his back. "We're in separate programs, sweetheart. And we're past standard courses now."

"I know," he said with resignation. "But I still want to see you. It won't be the same without you."

She gave him a smile as they sat down at their table. "It's okay, Lance, we'll still see each other. It's not like I'm gonna be on Arus or something."

"Yeah!" Hunk agreed. "We'll all get to hang out on weekends at the Castle!"

"Perfect!" Katie smiled. They all ate their breakfast in relative silence, occasionally commenting how weird it was to be eating real Earth food regularly again. Then, the warning bell rang, and Katie knew she had to get going before she was late to class.

She stood up from the table and grabbed her bag, taking in Lance's pained expression while she did so. Katie glanced around quickly, then ducked down and kissed his cheek.

"We'll find time to see each other, I promise," she told him. "I won't be far away if you need me, okay?"

"Feels like it," he mumbled, and her heart broke a little at how sad he sounded. He gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head and a smile that she knew was forced. "I'll see you at dinner, okay?"

"See you then," Katie replied. As she turned and walked away, she found herself praying that her classes wouldn't keep her too busy.

* * *

"I'm gonna punch her in the face with my bayard."

Lance wanted to snicker, but he held it in. "No, Katie, you can't hit Professor McDougall."

Katie huffed loudly, throwing her hands up into the air with exasperation as they walked along the trail in the new Garrison gardens. "But she gave the assignment with no parameters, and then said she was disappointed because none of our papers were over six pages long!" she repeated for the millionth time. "Like, I'm sorry, Professor, but how was I supposed to know you wanted six quiznaking pages when you didn't explicitly say so?!"

"I know, I know," Lance sighed. He reached his hand out to hold hers, and she gave her hand over reluctantly. He knew she sometimes just needed to be mad, but right now, he wanted to try to calm her down. He'd been planning this little outing all week, and he didn't want it getting started on the wrong note.

They spent the next few minutes in silence, Lance running his thumb over her hand, and Katie taking in deep calming breaths.

Finally, she squeezed his hand. "Sorry about all that," she muttered bashfully. "It just made me really angry."

"It's okay!" Lance said brightly. "I was mad at a professor the other day, too. He wouldn't listen when I tried to explain how our wormholes work— he said that there's no such thing as magic, but how else would you describe what Allura does?"

Katie's face scrunched up in concentration, and he knew he'd succeeded in distracting her. "Well, I personally believe that her crown acts like an interface with her quintessence, and that in turn flows into the panels she puts her hands on, which activates the crystal."

"Huh, I'd never thought of it that way before," Lance thought aloud as he lead her around the corner of the path.

She nodded. "Exactly, it's kind of like those crowns they gave us on Olkarion-"

She stopped, her eyes going wide. Lance snickered and turned to wrap his arms around her from behind. Before them lay a big picnic blanket with an assortment of flowers sprinkled all over it. But that wasn't what his girlfriend noticed.

"Are those…peanut butter cookies?" she breathed.

He grinned broadly, nodding. "Yup."

Katie spun around in his arms and pressed her lips against his. "You're the best!" she laughed, rushing over to sit down and enjoy.

Lance sat down on the blanket beside her, gazing at her fondly as she savored the cookies he'd slaved over for hours the night before in the community kitchen.

* * *

"Is anyone else starting to hate all the attention we're getting?"

"No, Lance, you? Hating attention? What has the universe come to?"

Lance rolled his eyes at her, and she snickered to herself. Honestly, she couldn't blame him for being annoyed right now. It was only the third weekend they'd come back to see their lions at the airbase, and it seemed that news had spread quickly.

All around the barricade were paparazzi. The cameras flashed and questions were being shouted out, and all Katie wanted to do was go back inside. But, she'd promised Green some fresh air, so there she and Lance were, sitting up against Green's paws and trying their best to ignore the racket. Blue was on their left blocking most of the mayhem, and Hunk and Keith were there with their lions, too, forming a neat little circle of protection for their paladins.

"Maybe I can fire a warning shot," Keith muttered darkly.

"OR," Hunk cut in, "We could just ignore them and hope they go away."

"Meh, I'm on Keith's side," Lance said with a shrug. "All of my lions are getting more irritated by the tick."

Katie looked up at Green. She could feel the annoyance coming from her lion, too, but that still didn't warrant threatening the press. They were just doing their job.

"Maybe if we actually set up more press conferences with them, they'd leave us alone."

"Shiro!" the younger paladins exclaimed as their leader walked up.

"Thank goodness you're here," Katie said. "Lance and Keith are ready to start a fight."

Shiro raised an eyebrow, settling down on the ground with the rest of his crew. "Not what I would suggest, but I can't blame you for being upset. I think it's high time we give in to all those requests we keep getting."

"But why?" Hunk inquired.

"Yeah, all they're going to do is twist our words or say we're crazy!" Lance pouted. Katie frowned and reached out to put a comforting hand on his back. She remembered when that reporter had singled Lance out— calling him nuts and saying that it was all a figment of his childish imagination. It took vargas to calm Lance down after that incident.

Shiro gave an understanding look. "I know, but we can't label all of them as bad just because of one person. We know what happened— they can't change that."

Lance's face indicated that he still wasn't happy with the idea, so Katie leaned in close. "We'll be right there with you this time," she whispered, squeezing his hand. "I won't let someone say that to you again."

His eyes met hers, and he managed a small smile. "Okay."

* * *

Lance was upset, plain and simple.

They'd been at the Garrison for just over two months, and already he felt like he barely saw Katie. Sure, they had their weekends together with the lions, but that was with everyone else, too. They never had any time just the two of them— not since that picnic, at least, and that was over a month ago now.

Occasionally they'd pass in the halls, and sure he'd see her for maybe ten minutes at each meal, but that was it. And he couldn't take it anymore.

That was why he'd come here. He knew she'd said she was busy. He knew she'd said that she had to work on this project. He knew she couldn't be distracted, but…

Lance sighed, staring at where she was sat at her desk typing away endlessly. He had missed her so much lately, and he knew that she missed him too, but that still didn't make up for all the time they didn't have together.

He let his eyes wander over her, taking in her adorably focused expression and the way her hair fell across her shoulders. He had to hold in another sigh. All he wanted to do was cuddle with her, hold her for eternity, and kiss her. But no, he was sitting here staring at her like the lovesick idiot he was, not knowing how to tell her that his heart had been aching for weeks now.

Feeling himself caving, he got up from her bed and wandered over, setting his chin on top of her head and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"I miss you," he murmured into her hair. "I feel like I barely see you anymore."

He heard a sigh, and the clicking of the keys stopped for a moment. "I know, Lance, but I have to get this done," she was saying, and his heart dropped. "Can you give me ten more minutes?"

Lance didn't know what to say. He wanted to be supportive and tell her that yes, of course, he understood, and she could have all the time she needed, but he _didn't_ understand. All he wanted was her, and it seemed like she was so focused on school that he'd been forgotten.

He didn't answer. Instead, he decided to lean down and nuzzle his nose into her neck. Then, without fully thinking it through, he kissed her just below her ear.

* * *

Katie's fingers, which had been reaching back toward the keyboard, froze. Her heart was beating wildly out of control, and her brain couldn't process what had just happened. All she knew was that it sent a shiver through her body, and she wouldn't mind if he did it again.

Which, thankfully, he did, and this time his lips lingered.

She shivered again, and tingles spread throughout her body. Why did it feel so good to have his lips on her neck?

Katie turned around in her chair slowly, taking in his expression. He was looking at her with half lidded eyes, and something in them was begging her to kiss him that moment. So she did.

She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed her lips against his. The reaction was instantaneous, with him cupping her face and pouring all of his emotion into the kiss. Understanding came over her as she felt his lips pressing more fervently into hers than ever before. He really had missed her. She felt a warmth spread through her, but then suddenly, Lance broke it off.

His breathing was labored, and she noticed dazedly that his hair had fallen in front of his eyes. And they were gazing into hers with such intensity, such passion, that she grabbed him again.

This time, it was different. A spark was lit between them, and there was no stopping it now. She ran her hands through his hair, and he let out a soft moan. Suddenly, she was being lifted out of her chair, and she found herself desperately wanting to be as close to him as possible, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

He was moving them, but she was too distracted by his intoxicating taste to care where. He had one hand behind her head now, and it stopped her from getting hurt when her back hit the wall.

The warmth was deeper now, and she angled her head to intensify the kiss. Lance responded in kind, parting his lips and licking her lips deftly. She sighed into his mouth, happily opening to allow his tongue to dance with hers for the first time.

Then suddenly, his lips were gone. She nearly asked why, but then she felt it— his lips were on her neck again. She moaned, fisting his hair in her hand as his lips slowly, tantalizingly worked their way down to her collar bone and back up again. Unable to stand it anymore, she grabbed his face and smashed her lips against his, and he groaned lowly into her mouth.

It felt like it could go on forever, and honestly, she wanted it to. But whether it was the building heat between them or the fact that she was getting dizzy for lack of oxygen, they had to stop.

They broke apart panting, the pent up passion between them dying down slowly. His wide blue eyes met her honey ones, and then, inexplicably, they burst out laughing. Her head fell back against the wall as she laughed, and she covered her blushing face with her hands. He was laughing, too, poking at her hands with his nose to get her to move them. She did, wrapping them back around his neck and staring into his eyes happily.

"Well that was unexpected," he chuckled, leaning in and pecking her on the lips.

Katie savored his taste once more, unashamedly letting out a disappointed moan when he left. She sighed, leaning back against the wall and taking in her lovely boyfriend's face. She'd missed him more than she'd thought, she realized.

"You're right," she hummed, brushing a hand through his hair to fix where she'd messed it up. "We do need to make more time for each other."

"We do," he murmured softly, his eyes sad. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his again.

Now, it was different again. The passion they'd experienced was replaced by solemn sincerity as their lips moved slowly against each others. It was a silent promise that she'd make things better, she really would. She'd make more time for him, she'd stop being so busy, she'd let him know that he truly was loved even if she was sometimes bad at showing it.

"I love you, Lance," she whispered when they parted. "I'm sorry for being so busy lately."

He sighed dreamily, setting his forehead against hers. "All is forgiven when you kiss me like that," he teased adoringly, and she burst out laughing again.


	11. Fighting Through

Keith was smiling and shaking hands with his crew when they stepped off the simulator, and the sight of it made Katie grin. Keith had expressed quite clearly his excitement (or lack thereof) for working with anyone other than his fellow Paladins, so it was nice to see that everything had worked out just fine. From what the cadets could hear from the observation deck, it sounded like his simulation had gone near perfectly.

She recalled hearing Keith's communication officer mention something about a difficult overhang at one point, and Katie made a mental note of it. Whatever it had been, it must have been rough, because even Keith had gasped in surprise before he whipped the simulator into a hard left.

Katie glanced up at Lance, wondering if he felt as nervous/excited as she did. Most likely excited, given how wide his eyes were and the way he kept bouncing back and forth on his feet.

As for Hunk, he looked about how Katie felt, and she had the feeling she knew why. It was going to be weird going back to their usual stations, seeing as how both of them were so used to being pilots now. Obviously they were competent in their respective roles, but that wasn't the problem. As much as they knew how to work as a team, it was always in their individual lions. What if they didn't know how to work as subordinates anymore?

Katie shook her head to get rid of the thought. There was no reason to think that this would go wrong. Heck, compared to what they'd been through in the past few years, this simulation was a joke.

Keith was walking toward them now, and he gave them a grin. "Good luck with the sim— they got rid of the Kerberos mission, so watch out."

"Oh please," Lance waved a hand, "I'm sure we'll beat your crew's record _easy_."

Swallowing, Katie wished she could say the same. Instead, she just gave Keith a nervous smile as they filed past, and he gave her an encouraging thumbs up. Iverson was waiting at the entrance of the pod, and Katie couldn't help but admire the new set up for the simulator. Magnetic levitation really did make it feel more real.

"Cadets, you are being sent out on a rescue mission into a hostile environment," Iverson recited just like he did before the other simulations. "Are you prepared to fulfill your duty as members of the Galaxy Garrison?"

"Yes sir!" they said, snapping to a salute.

Iverson nodded, and his smile seemed to say that he expected nothing less. "Good. You may proceed."

The cadets nodded affirmative before they turned on their heels and walked in. It was weird, honestly. The last time she'd been in here was almost five years ago…and she'd failed.

Katie's worried eyes glanced over at Lance as she sat down. He was taking in a deep breath, his eyes closed. For a moment, she considered getting up and giving him a quick kiss, but she knew she couldn't. This wasn't the Castle of Lions, where they were saying their goodbyes before they hurried off to their hangars. No, this was the Galaxy Garrison. She had to be professional.

With that thought in mind, Katie straightened up in her chair and flicked on her comm system. "Communication outlets activated," she called out.

"Systems are ready to go," Hunk informed them.

Lance gave a nod, then turned his head back toward them. "We're gonna do great, team," he said confidently, and Katie and Hunk smiled. They'd faced robeasts, fleets, and insane Galran generals. They could deal with a little simulator.

The screen in front of Lance came to life, and he punched the gear into drive. A thrill ran through Katie as she felt the magnetic levitation lifting them up slowly, steadily. Lance really had improved so much over the years, she thought as her heart swelled with pride.

He must have felt her staring at him, because he glanced back and gave her a wink. Blushing, Katie turned back to her screen and focused on the data that was pouring in. They were in the alpha quadrant, former Galran territory.

"Keith wasn't kidding when they said they updated it," she muttered to herself.

There was a slight rumble of the engines, and Katie nearly groaned out loud. Seriously? They'd just gotten started!

"Hunk-?"

"On it!" Hunk called out as he ran over to the mechanical box.

The familiar sounds of him tinkering around allowed Katie to focus again. They were approaching an unclassified planet, most likely uninhabited. From what the sensors told her, the planet was practically a desert wasteland on the outside. She looked at Lance's screen, and it confirmed the data. But then—

"Are those…volcanoes?" she queried.

"Focus, Pidge," Lance reminded her, and she blinked. Wait, what— why was he calling her Pidge? He'd stopped doing that months ago.

She shook her head and pressed the comm line to connect to Garrison control. "The planet appears to be uninhabitable, but the surface is volatile. Will proceed with caution."

Lance gave an approving noise, then said, "Galaxy Garrison flight log six – eighty-nine – eleven, begin descent to unidentified planet for rescue mission."

He guided them down smoothly, and Katie smiled again. She looked up at her screen, waiting for her cue. Usually this was about the time that the distress beacon would come on.

She waited patiently for a few moments, but when thirty ticks had passed, she frowned. What was going on? Was the system malfunctioning? She did a quick check over all of her links, but nothing was out of the ordinary. So why—

A bright red ping came up onto her radar, and her eyes widened.

"Galran ship picked up on the sensors, less than twenty-five kilometers out!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Hunk screeched.

Instead of echoing the surprise of his crew, Lance stated steadily, "Pidge, can you find me any place to hide?"

She flicked on the SONAR sensor immediately, and within moments, a map of the nearby terrain appeared. "Hide in the canyons!"

"Near the volcanoes?" he asked doubtfully. "Is there anywhere else?"

Katie shook her head. "It's the only place with enough cover."

With that said, Lance switched gears, and soon they were swooping down low. She thought that would do the trick, but the red was pinging closer now, and it had friends.

"Two Galran fighters have been dispatched toward our area," she warned. "You need to fly lower— the volcanoes should hide our heat signature."

"If we go any lower, we'll hit the canyon walls!" Lance argued.

Katie gritted her teeth, then forced herself to remain calm. Getting frustrated at him would solve nothing. "And if we stay up here, we'll get seen. All you have to do is take us into a nose dive, round that corner, and—"

"I'm the pilot here, Pidge. Stick to your station."

His words made her freeze. She felt like she'd been punched in the gut. The corner of her eyes were stinging, and her heart was numb. She sat there, motionless, until Lance gave her a look.

"What's our status on the distress signal?"

Katie didn't say anything. She just watched as the scene unfolded before them.

The Galran fighter jets appeared on screen. Hunk let out a gasp. The Galrans fired. Lance dived down to get out of the way—

They landed with a resounding crash, and the screen went blank.

 _"Simulation Failed."_

Katie unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up, hands on her hips. The numbness was gone, replaced with fury coursing through her veins. "Why didn't you listen to me?!" she shouted.

Lance gave her an irritated look. "Because in case you forgot, I'm the pilot, and you're the communications officer. I decide how we fly."

Her teeth were grinding together now as she bit out, "And in case **_you_** forgot, I was a pilot too! I fought in that war too! And just because you're my superior now does not mean that you can ignore my advice!"

His eyes narrowed at her. "I will do what I think is in the best interest of the—"

"Ugh!" she screamed, throwing her comm set down. She turned on her heel and stormed out without a single look back.

Keith was rushing forward on the platform, his eyes wide with concern. "Pidge-"

She pushed past him and kept walking. As she left the room, she heard Keith saying, "Lance, what did you _do_?"

* * *

He didn't know how it had all gone so wrong.

Lance had been nervous, but he'd been hiding it well. Sitting down in that seat again had been terrifying, and all he wanted was to prove that he'd gotten better, that he'd changed, that he wasn't the screw up anymore.

And then it all flew by in a blur, and before he knew it, Katie was walking out.

Keith was in front of him now, looking part furious and part shocked. "Lance, what did you _do_?"

"I…" he started, blinking in confusion. "I don't know."

Keith gave him an incredulous look. "Are you serious? You completely ignored her advice!"

Hunk was wandering up now, and he gave Lance an awkward look. "Yeah, and you weren't even calling her Katie…what was with that?"

Lance blinked again. He'd done that? Why didn't he realize it?

From the looks on both Keith and Hunk's faces, he knew he'd screwed up. Quiznak, even Iverson looked surprised. That's when Lance noticed it— everyone was staring, whispering.

"Cadet," Iverson called, and Lance snapped to attention.

"Yes sir," he gulped.

Iverson stared him down, and for the first time in forever, Lance felt like he did all those years ago. "You may be the pilot, but a good pilot listens to his crew. You understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good," Iverson nodded, then gave him a meaningful look. "Now you go apologize to her before she decides to get wise and leave you."

Lance's heart dropped, but he maintained his salute. He walked out of the observation deck, fully aware that Keith and Hunk weren't following after him.

Quiznak, what had he done?

He trudged back to his dorm, letting the door shut behind him with a hollow thud. He could still hear her shouting at him, could still see the tears starting to fall from her eyes as she turned and left.

He sunk down on his bed, his eyes drifting over to the picture of her on his nightstand. His heart ached and tears flooded his eyes.

Quiznak, what had he _done_.

He couldn't believe he'd spoken to her like that. What did she think of him now? Probably that he'd never really changed. He was still the brash, cocky teenager she'd met five years ago. He hadn't improved at all. He was still the screw up, only now he'd hurt the woman he loved.

Katie's distressed face flashed through his mind again, and he squeezed his eyes shut. There was no way she could love him now, not after that. He'd belittled her, made her lower than him. That wasn't how things were supposed to be, he knew that. Things were supposed to be equal. They were teammates, partners, not superior and inferior.

But that's how he'd treated her.

A quiet sob came out of his throat, and he curled in on himself. He should've never come back here. He should've figured something else out. He should've put Katie first. He should've been more considerate. He should've, he should've, he should've.

There were so many things he wanted to change, but he knew that now, he had to make things right.

Lance shot up from the bed, his heart racing as he hurriedly wiped his tears away and scrambled around his room. Where had he put it? It had to be— there!

He pulled out the book and held it to his chest, freezing in place. Should he give her time? If he was upset, he couldn't imagine how she must felt.

No, he decided. He'd fix this right now. He couldn't let their relationship get damaged. He had to save this.

Lance burst out of his room, nearly running into Keith and Hunk in the process.

Hunk had his mouth open. "Lance, we-"

"Can't talk now!" he called back. "I've gotta go find her!"

"Go get her!" Keith shouted, and Lance tossed a thumbs up.

He ran the entire way, darting in and out of the crowds of students as he made his way to the other side of campus to the girls' dorms. When he arrived at the door, he practically screeched to a stop. And that's when he noticed it.

The door was still cracked open. And his Katie never did that.

His heart twisted, and he swallowed. Lance raised a hand and knocked.

"Katie?" he whispered softly. "Katie, it's me."

There was no response.

Lance sighed, his eyes trailing toward the ground. "Katie, I know I messed up, and I'm sorry. Please, can I-" he choked, his throat stinging. "Please, can I just-"

"Come in."

It was so quiet, so _defeated_ sounding, that he almost didn't hear it. But he obeyed, opening the door slowly and shutting it behind him. When he turned around, his heart broke.

She was lying on her bed curled up in a blanket, tissues scattered all around her. He dropped the book and rushed over immediately, sitting down next to her and reaching out—

Katie retracted her hands, crossing them tightly in her lap. Lance felt tears in his eyes, and he didn't know what to say. She didn't even want him touching her. That's how much he'd upset her.

He took in a shaky breath, staring down at the floor and wringing his hands together.

" _Querida_ , I-"

"Do you know how much that hurt?"

His head snapped up at the sound of her hoarse voice. She was staring at him, her eyes burning dimly with residual anger.

"That's all anyone used to tell me— to stay in my place," she continued, her lip quivering. "And hearing it from you, I just- it _hurt_ ," she hiccuped, tears surfacing. "It hurt so much because I felt like I wasn't valued, like you didn't care what I thought, like you completely forgot about all we've been through. You _dismissed_ me."

Lance's heart was hurting so much, and he still didn't know what to say.

"Katie-"

"And that's another thing!" she cut him off fiercely. "Why were you calling Pidge? Were you trying to, to distance yourself from me? Because if Katie isn't what you want, then you'd better-"

" _Querida, **please** ,_" he interrupted, his eyes burning with tears that he refused to let drop. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know I was doing that-"

"How could you not know?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know!" he said, his voice raising, and her eyes widened. "I don't know," he repeated, softer this time. "Please, please forgive me. I know I was stupid. I know I talked down to you, and I just—"

His voice cut off at the hard look in her eyes. No, no, _por favor_ , he couldn't lose her this way. This was their first fight, he couldn't let this be the way it ended. He didn't want to be fighting, he wanted to be with her, laughing and joking and hugging and kissing and striving forward together forever.

So he did the only thing he knew how.

Lance slid off her bed and got down on his knees.

He missed the surprise in her eyes, bowing his head and whispering, "Katie, I don't know what to say. I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. But, please, I-" he stopped, the tears spilling over. "I-I can't lose you."

There was silence. Dreadful silence. His heart was sinking lower and lower by the second, and he knew he was done for. All those years of waiting, all those years of hoping, and these few precious months of finally having her— gone, in just minutes.

But then, he heard movement. She was leaving her bed, crouching down in front of him and cupping his face with her sweet little hands.

"Oh Lance," she murmured. "You could never lose me."

He let out a sob, this time of joy. He wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, and her hands stroked through his hair.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still upset with you," she told him. "But I know you didn't mean it."

"I didn't," he nodded into her shoulder.

She released him, looking deep into his eyes. "We're going to fight," she said gently. "We're going to cry and laugh and go through a whole bunch of stuff together. And when the bad stuff happens, it's going to hurt," she explained, and Lance nodded again.

Katie was wiping away his tears now. "But I love you, Lance," she whispered, setting her forehead against his. "And we're going to get through everything we face."

His lip quivered, and before he could regain any sense, he pressed his lips against hers. His heart was still aching, and he was still so worried that he would lose her, and his lips moved against hers desperately in search of the reassurance he so badly needed.

She kissed him back sweetly, and he felt like crying all over again. He broke the kiss and brought his lips up to her forehead.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," he told her almost hysterically as he littered her face with little kisses. "I'm so sorry, Katie, I really am—"

She giggled cutely, swatting at him, "I forgive you, sweetheart, I do!" Then she cupped his face and kissed his nose. "Calm down," she instructed gently.

Lance realized then that his breathing had become erratic. Her honey eyes were staring at him calmly, and she demonstrated a deep breath. He followed her lead, and before long, he felt much better, the imminent terror of a panic attack fading away.

He sighed. "I'm pathetic, aren't I?" he asked as he gathered her in his arms.

She hummed, nuzzling into his chest happily. "Needing one another doesn't make us pathetic," she replied. "It means we love each other and care about each other."

"And I do," he whispered firmly. "I love you so much, Katie."

"And I love you, Lance," she said, pressing a kiss against his cheek. "Now…" she trailed off with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "What did you drop when you walked in?"

Lance blinked, then blushed. He let her go and got up from the ground, wandering over to the door and picking up the fallen book.

"I, uh…" he cleared his throat. "I've been making this," he said, handing it over to her shyly. "It's not the timing I would've chosen, but…"

"Lance," Katie breathed. "Is this-?"

"It's us," he nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I've been saving the pictures for a while now, and I thought that, it, um, well I thought you'd like it."

She sighed happily, flipping through the pages filled with memories. "It's beautiful," she whispered, then looked up at him and pecked his lips. "You're wonderful, Lance."

"Not all the time," he laughed nervously.

"No, but most of the time," she decided. "I shouldn't have shouted at you, today."

Lance shrugged. "I deserved it."

"And do you know what you deserve now?" Katie asked him innocently.

He blinked. "…a hit on the head?"

He had no idea what happened next. All he knew was that she was on his lap kissing him, and he was totally fine with that.


	12. Meeting Family

"I'm gonna freak out."

"No you're not."

"Yes I am. I'm gonna freak out, and no one can stop me."

"Lance, if you freak out, I will slap you."

"AGHH!" he groaned dramatically, and Katie cackled. He'd been pacing in her room for several minutes now, and it seemed that his newest tactic to calm down was rolling back and forth on her bed.

His back was toward her, and he was curled up in a little ball. Just as she was starting to wonder if she should check on him, he shot up with wide eyes.

"But what if she hates me and won't let us date? What if she thinks I'm not good enough for you? What if I get nervous and start speaking in Spanish? What if-"

Katie rolled her eyes, walking away from the mirror and pecking her anxious boyfriend on the lips. "Sweetheart, you need to calm down," she instructed gently, but firmly. "I'm nervous about meeting your family, too, and that's going to be worse. You only have to meet my mom."

Lance waved a hand. "Yeah, but you'll be fine with my family because I've told them so many good things about y—"

She put a hand over his mouth and raised an eyebrow. "And I've told my mom plenty of good things about _you_ ," she replied, her hand moving to smooth through his hair.

He leaned into her touch, and soon she had him gathered against her chest, stroking his back soothingly. "It's going to be fine," she whispered. "And if it's not, who cares? We'll still be together."

Lance mumbled something in Spanish, and from the tone of his voice, he wasn't exactly taking her promise as a vote of confidence.

Smiling softly, Katie leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. "I gotta get changed now— meet me out in the hall?"

"Of course," he replied. Lance got up from her bed and stretched, and she couldn't deny that she let her eyes wander a bit over his form. He must have felt the stare, because he turned around and winked. "Enjoying the view?"

"Nah," she snickered, then pushed him toward the door. He gave her a pout when she shut it, and she laughed.

Katie went over to her closet and picked out her official Garrison uniform, the Voltron pin she added to the side gleaming proudly. Within a few minutes, she was changed out of her baggy pajamas and into her uniform. She checked to make sure she looked fine in the mirror one last time before she stepped out, unsurprised to find the rest of the gang waiting with Lance.

"Hey, hey, we're ready to go now!" Hunk cheered.

Katie shook her head. "You guys didn't have to wait for me, that's Lance's job."

"We're still a team, though, so we thought we'd wait together," Keith said stubbornly, and everyone grinned. Even though he was sometimes awkward at showing it, they knew that Keith valued their kinship probably more than anyone else on the team.

"And we always will be," Shiro added on. Lance and Katie shared a look, smiling brightly.

Katie took his hand as the group started down the hallway together. "You still nervous?" she asked quietly.

He squeezed her hand, and that's when she noticed that his eyes were twinkling with excitement (though a hint of anxiety peeked through). "Nope! I decided that you're right— we'll still be together no matter what, so I shouldn't be scared."

"Yup, he's still freaking out," Hunk snickered.

Keith crossed his arms. "Completely."

Lance gave an exasperated look. "Guys, I thought I told you not to-"

Katie burst out laughing and flung her arms around her lanky boyfriend. "You'll be _fine_ ," she giggled. "Besides, I don't know what Keith's acting so tough for. We all know that his _girlfriend_ is gonna be there-"

"She's not my girlfriend," Keith grumbled. "She's just-" he sighed suddenly, staring off into space with a dreamy look that Katie had seen on Lance's face a thousand times before. "She's just Charlotte."

"Charlotte, hm?" Shiro asked. "That's a pretty name."

"Yeah," Keith whispered, then shook his head and blushed.

Hunk was smiling at everyone now. "I'm so happy for you guys," he said with his usual cheer.

Katie returned the smile. "What about you, though?"

"Yeah, when are you and Shiro gonna find someone?" Lance hopped in.

Shiro held his hands up in resignation. "I don't think I'm up for that at this point in my life, but I'm not shying away from it either. Whatever happens, happens."

Hunk nodded. "Same here. I think it'll all work itself out with time, you know? Like you two!" he said with a meaningful look at Lance and Katie.

Suddenly, they were at the doors to the backstage. All of the younger paladins shared a look before their eyes drifted up to Shiro, who gave them a smile.

"Come on, you all remember your lines, right?" he asked, and they all nodded. "Then it'll be fine. We've faced worse than an assembly."

Lance gave a nervous laugh, and Katie squeezed his hand reassuringly. Keith stuck his tongue out in disgust at them, and the whole group burst out laughing.

Chuckling, Shiro opened the door and gestured for them to go ahead. "Let's go, team."

Keith and Hunk filed through, but Lance still looked frightened. Katie glanced over at Shiro, then leaned up to peck her boyfriend on the lips.

"I'm gonna be right here the whole time, okay?" she whispered.

Lance took in a deep breath before he gave her a nod. She smiled and walked through the door, ignoring the fond chuckle Shiro gave as she passed by. The backstage area was dark, but she could see the light of the stage glowing ahead of her. She walked forward and joined her teammates on the stage, grinning proudly out at the audience. Lance followed suit, and she looked at him subtly to see if he was smiling.

Shiro was the last one to enter, and he walked up to the podium. "Welcome, friends and family. Our apologies for not bringing the lions— they wouldn't fit through the door," he joked, and the audience laughed while Pidge and Hunk groaned.

Their leader gave a little snicker when he saw their faces. "As you know, we are the Paladins of Voltron. But before that, we were regular cadets just like any other student at the Galaxy Garrison. I know that my training gave me the skills to be not only a leader, but a friend. We all had each other's backs— something that the Garrison emphasizes every single day."

There was an appreciative hum that ran through the crowd, and Shiro glanced back at the other paladins. "I'm not the only one whose experiences at the Garrison helped them in our journey, so I'll let my teammates give you their thoughts as well."

Katie noticed Lance swallow nervously as their line moved down so that he would be in front of the microphone. "I was in my second year here at the Garrison when our adventure began, and honestly, I wasn't doing so hot," he laughed bashfully. "I was just so excited to get out there and fly that I didn't want to do all the boring stuff like homework, but that's what I would look back on when I was stuck in a situation. All of those tiny things really added up in my education to make me a better pilot and teammate."

She knew that was all he'd decided to say, but by the hesitation in his eyes, she also knew that he felt he had to say more.

A true smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he looked out at the crowd with confidence. "As explorers in training, you're always excited to get out there and finally see all the things you've been reading about in the textbooks. And it's all just as amazing as you hoped, and you learn more and more every single day. And…" he trailed off, and Katie suddenly realized that he was looking right at her. "And you don't know it now, but sometimes you realize that the best thing is what was right in front of you the whole time," he said tenderly.

Katie's heart was warm, and she unabashedly reached out and squeezed his hand. She stepped up to the mic, giggling as he made a comical face and lowered it down to her level.

Katie cleared her throat and gave the crowd a sarcastic look. "Well I agree with him, obviously," she joked, holding up their intertwined hands. The audience gave a laugh, and by the look on her boyfriend's face, she knew he would've kissed her if he could.

"But he's right," she continued. "The training we received here prepared us for things we couldn't even imagine. I mean, none of us had a clue what we were getting into, but you learn as you go along. And at the end of the day, what we were fighting for were those back home. People like you guys— our family, our friends. You played a role you weren't even aware of. You were our motivation to get through the bad times and make it to the light at the end of the tunnel."

It seemed that Lance couldn't resist anymore, because within a second of her finishing her lines, Katie felt his lips press against the top of her head. The crowd awww'd, and Katie blushed.

* * *

"Alright, alright, move along love birds," Hunk teased as he got up to the mic. Lance stuck his tongue out, and his best friend just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, they're even worse off stage, trust me. But I can't blame them— after all, we've been friends since we first got assigned together!"

Lance listened patiently as Hunk and Keith made their speeches, all of his anxiety gone now that his was over. Soon enough, Iverson came up on stage to give some final thoughts, and Team Voltron exited to backstage with a relieved sigh, entirely glad that the whole ordeal was over with.

But then Katie turned toward him with wide eyes and said, "Ready to meet my mom?", and his heart jumped. He'd completely forgotten about that!

He tried to put on a courageous smile. "Sure! Let's go!"

She saw right through his facade, of course, but she didn't comment. Instead, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "You did great out there, by the way."

Lance gave her a genuine smile, then pulled her to his chest and sighed. "All because of you, _querida_ ," he hummed as he nuzzled her hair. "Now let's get going— I don't want to put this off any longer."

Katie's concerned eyes looked up at him. "You sure?"

He nodded seriously, and that's when Keith walked by and said, "If he waits any longer, he'll faint."

"Same goes for you!" Hunk snickered. "Go find your girlfriend already!"

Keith rolled his eyes. "She's not my-"

"Go find her!" the group shouted, and their red paladin just laughed before he rushed out toward the crowd.

Shiro gave everyone an amused look. "Shall we?"

"Onward!" Hunk cheered. The group walked through the door to the banquet hall together, and Lance made sure that Katie's hand was in his. He still felt a little pathetic for relying on her so much, but she was his strength when he was anxious like this. And could you really blame him? He wanted her mom to like him— he knew how much her family meant to Katie.

He looked down and saw that she was searching in the crowd. A few ticks more, and her face lit up. "I see her! She's waving!"

Lance followed her eyes, and there she was— Mrs. Holt, smiling brightly at the pair. A sense of calm came over him— especially when he noticed how alike she and Katie looked— and they made their way through the crowd of students and their families to meet her.

"That was just wonderful!" Mrs. Holt told them, reaching out and pulling Katie into a firm hug. When she let go of her daughter, Mrs. Holt held her arms out to Lance, and he blinked.

"Come on, now, don't be a stranger," she laughed. She came forward and hugged him tightly, giving a few pats on the back before she released him. "I've been wanting to meet you for a long time!"

"N-Nice to meet you too," he stuttered, immediately feeling like an idiot.

Katie burst out laughing and wrapped her arms around his waist. "He's a little nervous," she mock-whispered to her mom.

Mrs. Holt waved a dismissive hand. "Oh please, there's no need to be. I think you two are just adorable."

"Mooooom," Katie groaned. "We're adults! We're not adorable!"

"Yes you are!" a voice shouted from a few feet away.

Lance's eyes lit up, and he practically vaulted himself toward the incoming party. "Mamá! Papá!" he called. All at once, the McClain family was wrapped up in a giant hug, his little siblings clambering around his feet, and his parents holding him tight.

" _Mi hijo_ , you're going to get kicked out pulling a stunt like that!" his mamá scolded.

"Ah _querida_ , let the boy have his fun," his papá chuckled. "I remember you being quite the flirt when you were his age!"

His mamá opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off.

"So that's where he gets it from."

His parents turned in sync, and Lance watched as his mamá's eyes filled with tears. She rushed forward and took Katie's face in her hands."Oh _mi hijo_ , she's even more beautiful than you described!" she cried.

Lance blushed. "Mamá, let her go-"

"I wanna see her!" Sebastian shouted.

"Yeah, me too!" Mia pouted.

Katie's eyes turned upon hearing the shouts, and she grinned. "Hello, you two! Hmm, let me guess…you're Mia," she said, pointing to his little sister. "And you must be Sebastian!"

The two nodded, absolutely delighted that she already knew their names.

"And we know who you are!" Mia claimed.

Katie gasped. "Really? You do?"

"Yeah, you're Lance's girlfriend, Katie!" Sebastian told her.

She put a hand over her heart in feigned shock. "Well how on earth did you know?"

"Because he never shuts up about you," his papá cut in with a chuckle. Lance gave a bashful look, but he happily wrapped an arm around his _querida_ when she came to stand by his side. "It's nice finally to meet you."

Katie grinned. "It's nice to meet you guys, too." Her eyes flickered over to where her mother and his mother were now talking rapid fire. "Oh quiznak, what do you think they're saying?"

"I don't know, and I'm not sure I wanna know," he joked, and she laughed before she tightened her grip on his waist.

The day went remarkably well. Matt joined them for lunch, and their families had a blast catching up on how school had been and getting to know each other. Seeing Katie interact with his family made Lance's heart swell, especially when he saw how sweet she was toward his little siblings. Their families being together, laughing and having a good time…well, it all seemed how it should be.

That evening when they got back, Lance just couldn't believe how well it had all gone. He felt dazed, chatting rapidly with Katie as he walked her back to her room.

"-but can you actually believe it!" he exclaimed.

She gave him an amused look.

"They all got along so well!"

"I know, dear."

"And _mi abuella_ even called to talk to you!"

"Which was very nice of her."

"Right?!" he cried as they walked through the door to her room. He shut it behind him and fell back against it, staring up a the ceiling. "I can't believe we got through it," he whispered.

Giggling, Katie came forward and took his hands. "I told you we would, sweetheart."

"I know, I know," he chuckled. Lance cupped her face tenderly, still wrapped up in his bliss of a wonderful day. He smoothed over her cheek with her thumb, then twirled one of her curls around his finger. "Were you nervous?" he asked.

"A little bit," she admitted. "But I figured that if they were anything like you, then I'd have nothing to be afraid of."

Lance's eyes dropped guiltily. "Sorry I didn't have that same confidence."

"Sweetheart, it's okay," she murmured, coming up to peck his lips. "I completely understand why you were worried, and honestly, it was pretty cute." He wrinkled his nose, and she gave a laugh. "And besides, we made it through, didn't we?"

His blue eyes widened. "We…we did," he agreed. Suddenly, his energy was renewed, and he whirled around to pump his fist into the air. Katie laughed, and he took her by her hands and spun her around. "We did it, we did it, we did it," he sang as they danced around messily.

Katie let out a gleeful laugh, and his eyes lit up before he caught her lips in an excited kiss. It sloppy and all over the place and silly and they kept giggling and bumping noses, but after a minute or two, he let her go and gave her a final twirl.

Her bright eyes looked up into his, and she smiled as she said, "Now you just have to meet my extended family!"

The thought hit Lance like a train. He groaned and fell back onto her bed in a faux-faint. He heard her giggle, and before he knew what was happening, he was being tickle attacked.

"Come on, it won't be that bad!" she teased.

Lance rolled his eyes, and the two snuggled up together happily, still panting from all the excitement the past few minutes had brought.

Once he had finally caught his breath, Lance opened his eyes and gazed at his girlfriend lovingly. How had he been so lucky to get a girl like her? She filled his life with so much joy and excitement and fun— he couldn't imagine what it would be like for a second without her.

Looking back, he would realize that this was the first time that he had those kinds of thoughts. And maybe, just maybe he'd start admitting that he wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

But for now, he cleared his mind. Lance wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close, nuzzling his nose into her hair before he drifted off into a light sleep. _This_ was how things were meant to be.


	13. Living Together

**Author's Note: I don't usually put these, but I figured I should since it's been literally two months. Let's just say that life took over, so please take this ridiculously long chapter as an apology! Also, I anticipate there being two more chapters after this, so enjoy!**

* * *

They often say that time moves slowly when you're in it, but then when you look back, it feels like it's gone really quickly. Or, you know, something like that. There's probably a simpler way to put it. But Lance had to agree with this "they" person.

Their year of finishing up school felt like it flew by in a blur. It reminded him of the past several years in war…how while they were in all that mess, it felt like it would drag on forever without a light at the end of the tunnel. But now looking back, it didn't seem so bad.

And things were especially improved now with his _querida_ by his side. There was no doubt about that. But even then, time with her was never enough. They'd spend every second they could together— he'd walk her to classes (then inevitably be late to his own), sneak into her room to watch their favorite tv shows at night, have every meal together, hang out with their lions on the weekends.

Those were the good days. So good that he thought he wanted the entire rest of his life to be that way.

* * *

Katie felt like she was about to burst with excitement. She was running, running as fast as she could, and it was in that moment she cursed her short legs and the ridiculous length of the hallways in this castle.

The doors she was looking for were down the long stretch of sleek white floors. It felt like an endless tunnel, but finally, panting and completely out of breath, she made it. The doors slid away smoothly, and she saw him.

She managed to quell her excitement enough to turn her run into a casual stroll. Lance, of course, heard her footsteps immediately and turned around. He gave her the usual smile— the huge, bright one where his eyes sparkled.

She was yards away.

"How was Thanksgiving?" he asked with a knowing grin.

Several feet away.

She shrugged, but her heart was racing. "Too political."

One foot away.

His grin broadened. "Same."

Without hesitation, she crashed her lips into his, and she let out a contented sigh. Thanksgiving break had sucked without him. Had they been texting constantly? Yes. Had they chatted for hours each night on video chat? Yes. But it wasn't the same as _being_ with him.

Lance wrapped his arms around her tightly as he responded with his usual passion— the one that never seemed to die out. She could feel him smiling against her lips, and she broke off the kiss with a laugh.

"I told you I missed you, didn't I?" she joked.

"I know," he replied, pecking her lips once more. "But I like it when you do that. You should do it more."

Katie just giggled and squeezed him as hard as she could, nuzzling her face into his chest. "It's good to be back," she mumbled against his t-shirt.

"And you're just in time," he informed her. "Dinner's in ten minutes."

She sighed. "Dang it, I wanted more time with you."

She felt his lips press against the top of her head. "Don't worry—" he said as he began to let her go, "—we'll have time later. I brought the new Smash Horror 2 game for us to play."

Her eyes widened. "With the new power saw attachment and everything?"

"Yup," he popped, eyes twinkling.

Katie leaned up and kissed Lance on the cheek. "I love you," she stated.

"I love you, too," he laughed. The pair intertwined their hands and started down the hall, content once again in each other's presence.

After a few moments, Lance looked over at her. "So what did your family get into a debate about this time?" he teased.

Katie rolled her eyes. "The usual. Republican versus Democrat, first amendment rights, whether AUMF should be revoked, blah, blah, blah. I feel like they make a big deal out of everything, and they don't even realize that there are bigger problems in the universe than the inflation rate."

Lance hummed understandingly. "We didn't have that perspective either until we left, but I know what you mean. I heard the UN's trying to create a more collective global alliance. We need unity while the universe is recovering from the Galra Empire."

She took in his thoughts, then leaned her head against his shoulder. "Do you ever wonder what would've happened if the Galra had reached Earth?" she wondered aloud. "I think about it a lot sometimes."

"I wouldn't have met you," he joked lightly. She couldn't help but crack a grin. Lance smoothed his thumb over her hand. "But I think about it, too…and all I can say is, I'm glad they didn't. Who would've defended the universe if they had?"

Katie shrugged as they turned the corner toward the dining room. "Different paladins. Different planets. Different alliances— maybe the rebels or the Blades. It'd be an entirely different reality."

"Ugh, you're starting to remind me of Slav," Lance groaned, making the couple burst out laughing.

"Please tell me no one invited him."

Katie's eyes switched from Lance to Shiro, and she snickered when she saw their leader's horrified expression.

"No, I made sure not to," Princess Allura spoke up from the head of the table, and Shiro's shoulders slumped with relief.

Lance and Katie made their way to their usual seats next to Coran. Before them laid a delicious looking feast, and Katie's head turned when she heard the door to the kitchen open.

Hunk came out holding a large turkey on a platter, and he smiled when he saw them. "Pidge! You made it!"

"I'm here, too," Lance mumbled.

Keith, who had just entered, raised an eyebrow. "You've been here all day, Lance."

Katie's boyfriend just stuck a tongue out, while she snorted and shook her head. Keith and Hunk sat down in their chairs next to Shiro, and Katie looked around the table.

"Wait, where's Lotor?" she asked.

Allura's head tilted. "Lotor is on a goodwill mission in the phi-mu sector. He hopes to return tomorrow to express his thanksgivingness."

All the earthlings smiled at her misuse of the word, but they didn't bother to correct her.

"I think that's a great idea for all of us," Shiro said. "How about we all go around and say what we're thankful for?" Everyone nodded in agreement, and he cleared his throat. "I'll start. I'm thankful for my new professor's assistant, because without her I wouldn't have gotten the papers graded in time to come here."

Shiro looked at Hunk, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Hmm…I'm thankful that I got to see my family this week for Thanksgiving break," Hunk decided. "It had been so long, and they all made an effort to come see me— even my cousins from Samoa!"

It was Keith's turn now, and for some reason, he blushed. "Well, um…I got to go see Charlotte a few days ago, and I met her family, so…I'm thankful for that," he finished quickly.

Katie smiled encouragingly at Keith, but then she realized it was her turn. "Oh! Uh, I think I have a lot to be thankful for. I got a 4.0 this semester—"

"Not a surprise," Lance coughed.

"—and I have this idiot," she said, patting Lance's shoulder as she rolled her eyes. Everyone laughed at that. "But I'm mostly glad to be back here, with you guys, because you're my family, too, and Thanksgiving felt weird without you."

Lance's hand grabbed hers, and he squeezed. "I'm thankful for Katie, and that I passed my pilot simulation last week," he stated firmly. Katie squeezed his hand back, and they shared a smile.

Coran cleared his throat. "I, for one, am very thankful for this earthling holiday. It is always important to remember what we have, even while we cannot forget what we have lost."

Finally, Allura stood up from her chair. "I would like to echo Coran's words. I am sure you paladins are not aware of this, but…this day happens to be when my mother died several millennia ago." Her eyes fell to the ground. "I am thankful to have such good friends by my side on a difficult day like this."

She sat down, and a respectful silence fell upon the group.

A moment passed before Shiro said, "We've been through a lot, team. But I think I speak for all of us when I say I'm thankful we're still together."

Katie heard a light sniff to her left, and she turned to see that Lance's eyes were glassy. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He gave her a watery smile and mouthed "I love you."

* * *

He was positively giddy. It was his most favorite day of the whole year (well, besides his birthday, of course), and he had an ingenious plan. So ingenious that he was honestly surprised he came up with it. It was unthinkable, mind blowing, practically impossible—

Fine, maybe he was just surprising Katie at her house for Christmas, but he thought it was a great idea, okay? Stop judging.

His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest as he snuck up to the house. He'd parked Blue way out in a field and walked the rest of the way, praying that she didn't see him land. He'd made Blue promise she would keep the bond closed, or else that would be a dead giveaway.

Lance's entire body was buzzing. If he'd thought Thanksgiving break had been torture, Christmas break was worse. It was way too long, and he'd been tempted more than once over the past two weeks to come see her. But no, he had to be patient.

She kept asking why he couldn't come for Christmas, and near the end, he was starting to run out of excuses. Family always seemed to be the easiest cover up, and thankfully Katie was always understanding. Still, it had been hard to keep this secret from her. Lance hated secrets with a passion, but he knew that for this to work, he had to act completely innocent. He wanted it to be a surprise, after all.

He was at the back door now— the one that he was pretty sure Matt said he would leave unlocked. Lance turned the knob, and sure enough, the door opened. He tip toed in as quietly as he could, then shut the door softly. He laid back against the wall to give himself a moment to calm down, but then he heard it—

Katie laughed.

Lance's heart ached. His entire body was telling him to run toward that magical sound, but he held himself back. He had a mission, and he wouldn't ruin it after he'd come so far.

Filled with renewed determination, Lance headed up the staircase to the left. Matt said her bedroom was the one on the right…Lance opened the door, and grinned when he saw her clothes scattered all across the floor.

He walked into the room in a daze. It was fascinating to finally see her room…and it suited her, of course. There were science posters everywhere, and it was in its usual messy state. Part of Lance was dying to clean it all up, but he shook his head— he had to focus on the mission.

He shut the door, took his backpack off, and got to work. The plan was pretty simple: cover the room in string lights and hang mistletoe in every single possible spot. The only problem was the time constraint— he had about thirty minutes before Katie would come upstairs to video call him at their usual time. So he had to hurry.

The next half hour flew by in a flurry of near panic. When it was getting near eight o'clock, his heart rate started to speed up. His palms were sweating, he checked his hair a thousand times in the mirror, and he was honestly starting to wonder if any of this (especially the horrendous Christmas sweater he was wearing) was a good idea.

But then he heard steps on the stairs, and he froze.

It was time.

As nimbly as possible, he ran over to sit criss-crossed on her bed. He grabbed the bow he'd laid aside earlier and stuck it on his head. His heart was racing with each step closer, but he was smiling, too. She just had to like it, right?

Finally, the door opened.

He caught her expression in the Christmas lights— shock, confusion, and then overwhelming joy when she saw him.

"Lance!" she cried before she ran across the room and practically threw herself at him. Their lips met in a rush of surprise and familiarity, and when they pulled back, their eyes were shining.

"I didn't even have to point out the mistletoe," he teased.

Katie rolled her eyes and flicked the bow on his head. "I should've known you'd pull a stunt like this," she grinned. "How long have you been planning it?"

"Mm, a month?" he guessed. "Matt helped with the details."

Her eyes acknowledged this fact, but she didn't reply, opting instead to snuggle into him as much as she could. He wound his arms around her and held her tight, sighing contentedly.

"Merry Christmas, Katie," he whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Lance," she mumbled into his neck. Suddenly, she jolted upright. "Oh! I have to get your present!" she said, then proceeded to scramble off him and run over to her desk.

Lance sat up and watched her with a dopey smile. He knew now that this had been the right choice. When she turned around to face him, she had a bag in her hands. Blue tissue paper was sticking out of the top haphazardly, and he chuckled. She gave him a look— she always could read his mind perfectly— and thrust the bag into his lap.

"You know I suck at wrapping," she said with her tongue poked out.

He just shook his head and smiled. "I know." With that, he tore into the present. At the bottom of the bag was a little blue box with a smiley face drawn on top. He pulled it out and popped off the top, eyes going wide when he saw the gift.

Katie scooted close and rested her chin on his shoulder. "You never know what time it is, so I thought a watch would be good," she explained, reaching a hand over to push a button. "Plus, I linked it to my headphones you stole, so it'll connect wirelessly to control your music. Do you like it?" The mix of hope and worry in her voice was clear as day.

"Like it? I love it!" Lance declared. He took the watch out of the box and put it on his wrist, marveling when it snapped together all on its own. It tightened to fit his wrist snugly, and the screen lit up with a little "hello" on it. Lance admired it for a moment more before he leaned down and captured his girlfriend's lips with a kiss.

"Thank you, Katie," he whispered. "I'm sure you have plenty of stuff you wanna tell me about it, but we can do that later. Can I give you your present? I've been waiting forever," he pouted, wiggling anxiously

Katie laughed and nodded her head. Lance moved to grab the box off her nightstand— it was a miracle she hadn't noticed it yet. When he shifted back so that he was facing her directly, he saw that she'd closed her eyes and held out her hands. His heart racing, he set the tiny green box into her palms.

Her eyes flashed open, and she grinned. "Looks like we both had the same idea with the color coordination," she snickered.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Guess so."

Katie heard his insecurity— she always did, really— and leaned up to peck him on the lips. "I love you, Lance," she reminded him in a sing-songy voice.

"Just open it," he pleaded.

To his relief, she did. She opened the box slowly, taking her time to delicately peal away the tissue paper. When she got to the bottom, her mouth dropped open. Her fingers reached within the box, and when they came back out, they held a little pin.

It was their typical Voltron pin, the wide set V outlined in silver and colored according to its paladin in the middle. But where only one color should be, there were two— green and blue. The stripes were tangled together, woven so as to never be separated. Just like he had asked for.

He watched anxiously as she examined it with wide eyes. "I-It's, um…I got it custom made," he swallowed. "I-I thought that, well…it's a symbol. Of you, and me. We, um, we're together, and I wanted a way to show it— not just to you, but for everyone else to know, too. I, uh, I have a matching one, too, if you…you know, if you want to wear it together."

Katie tore her eyes away from the pin to stare into his. "A symbol," she repeated in an awed whisper. "You wanted…the green and the blue…together…"

"Uh, yeah," he trailed off. "That's what I just said. Don't tell Red," he joked awkwardly, then coughed. "Do you…do you like it?"

She nodded quickly, and that was when Lance noticed that her eyes had gone all watery. On impulse, he reached forward and gathered her in his arms. She clung onto him.

"You're so quiznaking sweet," she sniffled. "I don't know what to say."

Lance let out a relieved sigh. "I'm just glad you like it, _querida_."

Katie nodded, her hair brushing against his neck. After a moment, she lifted her head and laid her forehead against his. "I'm gonna wear it every single day," she promised. "Because I want everyone to know you're mine, too."

His heart soared, and he pressed his lips against hers. She responded with fervor, and before they knew it, they had fallen back onto her pillows. He broke away and began a trail of kisses all over her face.

 _"Te amo, querida,"_ he murmured.

She looked up at him with warm honey eyes. "I love you too, Lance. Merry Christmas."

Lance laughed and nuzzled his nose into her neck. "A Merry Christmas, indeed."

* * *

It was ridiculous. Utterly. Ridiculous.

All she saw was pink. And purple. And glitter. And hearts. And cupids. And roses.

And she was _this close_ to losing it.

"I just don't get it," Katie huffed. "Why does there have to be _one day_ dedicated to love? It's so stupid. Love exists every day. It doesn't have to be constrained by the laws of time."

Lance was at her side snickering, and even Hunk and Keith were sharing a chuckle at her statement. She'd been ranting about her confusion over Valentine's Day all through breakfast, not letting any of them get a word in edge wise. It wasn't that she hated love or relationships or couples— she was _in_ love, for quiznak's sake. She just didn't understand why everyone suddenly had to make such a big deal out of it for one day.

"If it helps, Katie, I don't get it either," Keith was saying.

"Yeah, me too," Hunk shrugged. "It does seem weird that we picked an objectively random day on the calendar to celebrate one of the most widespread yet confusing emotions in the known universe."

Lance gaped at them. "Oh come on, guys, it's a great day! You get to give flowers and chocolate and tell people you care about them—"

"But you can do that any day!" Katie cried. "You gave me a candy bar just last week!"

Keith leaned over. "But it wasn't wrapped in pink and covered in hearts," he whispered conspiratorially. Hunk and Katie laughed at the joke, and Lance rolled his eyes.

"You guys are just bitter and can't accept the fact that Valentine's Day is one of the best days of the year," Lance huffed.

Hunk's, Katie's, and Keith's eyes all met. "Yup," they chorused.

Lance groaned, and Katie leaned up to kiss his cheek. "It's just how we are, honey," she teased. "I gotta get going to class, now, okay?"

His blue eyes brightened. "Can I walk with you?"

"And be tardy again?" Keith scoffed. "Not a chance."

"Yeah, you can't really afford that," Hunk added on. "Iverson's only gonna let you get away with so much."

Katie's boyfriend pouted, and she gave a sigh. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?" she said. When he still looked sad, she gave the little pin on his uniform a tap. His eyes lifted, and a smile broke out on his face. Ever since Christmas, their pins had become more than a symbol of their relationship— it was a way they always carried each other with them. They were always together, even with distance.

The paladins had coo'ed over it, of course. They thought that it had been so incredibly adorable, and Lance had preened with pride. Katie knew that everyone's approval always meant so much to him, and knowing that they thought he was being a good boyfriend was the highest honor imaginable.

With their silent promise made, Katie grabbed her backpack and walked off to class. The journey felt lonely without him, sure, but she pressed on. It'd be wishful thinking for her to want him constantly by her side—

A scream echoed down the halls.

Katie leapt into action without hesitation, running down to where the yell had come from. There was a crowd gathered around. She fought her way through, using her short stature to sneak past the other students. A few more people, she was almost there to help—

Only to see that it was just some girl being asked to be some boy's valentine.

Katie rolled her eyes and walked away. There goes reason number three-thousand ninety-eight for why she hated this day.

Throughout her classes, the list grew. With every sudden confession, every girly yelp, every nauseously bright pink heart, and every overdramatic show of love, Katie felt her eye twitch. It was all just so ridiculous and irrational, why could no one else see that? Why did this one quiznaking day suddenly make people go bonkers?

If you really loved someone, she rationalized, you wouldn't need a day to dictate how you treat them or confess to them. You should just love them because you love them, not because the calendar tells you to.

Thus, when lunch rolled around, she was in a worse mood than she'd already been in.

"Pidge…are you okay?" Hunk asked timidly.

She responded by stabbing her fork into her food.

"Yeah, you don't look so good," Keith stated.

She glared at him, and he had the good sense to look away.

Lance, who'd been staring worriedly the entire time, began to open his mouth, but at that moment, a confetti canon went off across the mess hall.

Katie slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "I can't take it anymore!" she shouted. "I'm leaving."

Hunk and Keith stared at her with wide eyes. Lance reached his hand forward. "Katie—"

She shook her head firmly. "No, I'm going to finish my lunch somewhere quiet," she decided. "I want to be by myself."

If she wasn't so angry and annoyed, maybe she would've noticed the sad frown growing on Lance's face. Or the worried looks Keith and Hunk were giving him. But she didn't— she just grabbed her stuff and marched away without a single look back.

Her mood only soured further throughout the rest of the day. There were more hearts, more screams, more proclamations, more drama, more everything. And Katie wanted nothing more than for it all to be over.

She didn't even bother going to the mess hall for dinner. She had snacks in her room, and she would happily survive on that if it meant avoiding the rest of the festivities.

Katie hunched over her homework and stuffed her face with a handful of chips. "Stupid lovey dovey day with its stupid lovey dovey crap," she muttered darkly. At least the day would be over within six hours— then everyone could move on with their lives.

And then there was a knock on the door.

She let out a growl. "I'm not here!"

There was an adoring huff. "Katie, I have a key, you know."

Oh, it was Lance. Katie felt her annoyance start to melt away. She'd hardly seen him all day. Maybe it'd be nice to see him. Yeah, that sounded good.

"Come in!" she shouted. Her door clicked, and the hinges creaked. She spun around in her chair. "Hey—"

She froze. There was a rose in front of her face.

"M'lady," Lance bowed.

Katie blinked. "Huh?"

He kissed her head. "Put on your favorite dress— we're going out."

"Wait, what?"

Lance tucked the rose into her hand and sprinted out the door. "Time's ticking, m'lady!"

The door slammed shut, and she shook her head. What the quiznak was going on? Confused, befuddled, and honestly in a state of shock, she did as he asked. She walked over to her closet in a daze, tossing on that blue dress she bought what felt like ages ago and a pair of sandals.

When she exited her room, he was waiting expectantly. Lance gave her a brilliant smile when their eyes met, and without further ado, he looped their arms together and started off down the hall.

Katie stumbled after him. "Where are we going?" she questioned.

Lance winked. "It's a secret, m'lady!"

Given that she didn't have many other options, Katie allowed herself to be dragged along. She had no idea what he was up to, but she did know that when Lance got all excited like this, it was usually best to just let it play out. He'd explain his antics eventually.

She noted as they went along that he was taking a particularly strange path. It made no sense— a turn here, a turn there, three lefts, then a right. She was pretty sure at some point they'd gone in a loop, but maybe disorienting her was part of the plan. If it was, then it was working, because she had no idea what exit they were walking out of when they left the building.

Katie turned to give him a dubious look, but Lance didn't say anything. He just kept that mischievous sparkle in his eye and a grin on his lips. Thus, Katie turned her attention to the rose in her hand. It offered no answers, either, but it did provide pleasing stimuli to study compared to the barren Arizona flats.

Lance was humming now, a little spring in his step. It took her a moment to recognize the tune, and when she did, she snorted.

"Fly Me to the Moon?" she guessed aloud, even though she knew she was correct.

He nodded. "You know it's my favorite," he replied breezily. "And it always brings back good memories. We danced to it after I told you how I felt, remember?"

Katie felt her heart warm at the memory. "Yeah, I do," she laughed. She took a moment to snuggle into his arm. "You were all blush-y and cute and couldn't stop stuttering."

"You were shy, too," he teased. "I remember you getting flustered just because I put my face close to yours."

She blushed at the memory. "You _were_ coming on a bit strong."

Lance looked up at the sky. "Was I?" he questioned.

"Nah," she laughed. "I think I was just so overwhelmed."

"Well…" he trailed off, making a sudden turn in their path. "Prepare to be overwhelmed again!"

Katie gave him a confused look, "Wha-"

And then, for the second time, she froze.

Before her was a picnic. Picnics had become a typical tradition of theirs recently— it was always a good way for them to catch up and spend quality time together when things got busy. But this was different.

He had glowing, floating lights all around. From the look of them, she could tell they were from Olkarion. When had he found the time to make the trip? Below the lights was their usual blanket, but it was covered in a plethora of scattered rose petals. In the middle on a plate was her favorite— peanut butter cookies, and again, she wondered just when he had the time to do all of this.

She was so in shock that she hadn't even noticed that he'd left her to turn on a speaker. Fly Me to the Moon began playing softly.

Katie blinked just in time for Lance to take her into a waltz position.

"So…do you like it?" he asked gently. "I know you don't get Valentine's day, and that's okay, but…I think it's really cool, and I wanted to do something nice for you. Just something extra, you know?"

A rush of affection ran through Katie, and she couldn't help herself when she leaned up to meet his lips with hers.

"I think I get it now," she murmured when they parted.

Lance gave her a bright smile, then pulled her into a little twirl. "Good!"

* * *

He just felt so…happy.

As simple as it was, there was no other way to describe it. He watched from the kitchen window as his family gathered in the backyard. They were milling about as their family Easter egg hunt began— he noticed that Mia and Sebastian kept wandering toward Blue, and he chuckled. They weren't going to find any eggs there, but they were certainly curious about his lion. The incessant purring from the bond told him she felt the same.

But he was just so incredibly happy. He had all of his family in one place, and it felt so good. Including—

There was a bang upstairs, and then a shout.

Lance turned, then made his way up the stairs. He knew he shouldn't have left her up there on her own.

He walked to his old bedroom door and knocked. "Katie? You okay?"

There was a grumble. "You can come in," she called.

He turned the knob, and promptly smiled. She was sitting on the bed rubbing her feet, a pair of toppled high heels on the floor below her.

"Stupid things kill my feet," Katie mumbled. She cast him an apologetic look. "Sorry. I wanted to look nice and stuff."

Lance walked over to her suitcase and grabbed a pair of flats. "It's okay!" he insisted. He came to kneel in front of her. "You look lovely, _querida_."

She gave a little smile. "Thanks, honey. I don't know why I'm so nervous today," she admitted.

"Because you're meeting my entire extended family, and it's a lot to take in," he hummed as he slipped her shoes onto her feet. Lance stood up and offered her a hand. "I was terrified when I met your mom, remember?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I just feel silly."

Lance chuckled. He leaned down to capture her lips, and she kissed back softly. He could tell she was nervous— usually she wasn't so tentative with him. An idea popped into his head, and he made to lower his lips to her neck.

"Lance!" Katie hissed. "Now is _not_ the time!"

"Mm…I don't know," he drawled, kissing just below her ear. "I told them you got in late, anyways, so they won't expect us soon…"

He heard her stifle a moan, then suddenly, she pushed him away. "No, Lance, we're going to go downstairs and socialize with your family because that's what we're here to do," she said sternly.

Snickering to himself, he replied, "Great, let's go, then!" He grabbed her hand and began to tug her down the hall to the stairs.

"W-Wait, Lance!" she exclaimed. "I'm not mentally prepared!"

Lance barked out a laugh. "You're the one who wanted to meet them!"

"B-But I didn't— you— you tricked me!"

Still snickering, Lance pulled her around the corner and lavished one more long, slow kiss on her lips. She gave a small whimper, and he pulled back so he could stare into her eyes.

"You're going to be _fine_ , Katie," he whispered. "I promise. They already think you're amazing, and besides—" he grinned, looking down at their green and blue Easter outfits. "We're matching."

Katie rolled her eyes, but then leaned up to peck him again. "I love you, Lance, but you're still too much sometimes."

He laced their hands together and started them down the hall toward the back door. "You looove me," he sang.

His girlfriend attempted to look mad. The smile tugging at her lips gave it away, though. So she just sighed and leaned into him. "I know."

The happiness that had been in his heart earlier doubled. It seemed that while he'd been gone, the Easter egg hunt had ended. Lunch was about to begin now, and when they walked out together, all eyes turned to them.

"Sorry we're late," Lance apologized loudly. "She just flew in from Wisconsin."

There was a round of friendly dismissals, and Lance heard Katie laugh awkwardly. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, and she returned the gesture.

His mamá came over and grabbed the pair in a hug. "Katie, so good to see you again!" she greeted.

"Nice to see you, too," Katie smiled warmly. "Is it okay for Green to be in the front yard? I didn't really know where to put her."

Mamá waved a hand. "Of course, I'm sure you picked a good place. Lance, _mi hijo_ , introduce your _corazoncita_ to your family!"

He nodded seriously. "I will, mamá. I just don't want to scare her."

His mamá gave an understanding nod, then turned to Katie. "There is no need to worry, _mi hija_. We are all friendly here."

Lance felt his ears go hot, and in that moment, he was so thankful Katie didn't speak Spanish. She didn't need to know that his mamá had just given away something incredibly important.

"Katie! Katie!"

The couple turned to the sound of Lance's siblings running up to them.

"Come with us, Katie!" Mia insisted.

"My egg got stuck under Blue's paw!" Sebastian pouted.

Katie let out a theatrical gasp. "Well, we can't let that stand, can we?" The two children shook their heads, and Katie grinned. "Let's go talk with Blue, okay? Maybe she'll move her paw if we ask nicely." She gave him a little wink, and before he knew it, his siblings had taken off with his girlfriend.

The moment she was gone, Lance whirled around to give his mamá an embarrassed look. " _Mamá_ —" he groaned. "You're going to give it away! She can tell if you're acting weird— she's good at that sort of thing!"

His mamá shrugged, making herself busy arranging the food on the tables. "I don't see what's wrong with that," she replied easily. "I think it's better that way— gives the woman time to prepare."

Lance covered his face with his hands. "But I want it to be a surprise when I propose," he mumbled. His hands dropped away to reveal a pleading look. "I want it to be special, mamá."

"Then just go ahead and do it," she said. "I don't see what you're waiting around for."

"We're still in _school_ ," he stressed. "And Katie's in the running for valedictorian, and I don't want to distract her with exams so close."

Mamá shook her head. "I don't see how that could be a distraction. You already have the ring— just give it to her. You don't have to plan the wedding immediately."

Paranoid, Lance glanced over his shoulder. Katie was still busy with his siblings, thankfully. "I know, mamá, but—"

His mamá put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a look. "You worry too much, _mi hijo_ ," his mamá tutted. "I won't say anything else, but you better get it over with soon before it drives you crazy."

Lance swallowed, then nodded. He lifted his head from where he'd been staring at the ground. Katie was over by Blue, sitting up on one of the massive paws. She was holding her arms out to help Sebastian up— Mia was attempting to climb up on her own. The scene made a soft smile come onto his face.

He knew this was what he wanted. He knew that he loved her, that she loved him. He knew that he couldn't imagine his life with anyone else.

But there was still fear in his heart.

He made up excuses, but he knew why he hadn't proposed yet— he was scared. Was it too soon? What if she didn't want to settle down so quickly? What if she didn't want him? The idea of rejection seemed so ridiculous, but he still worried about it every single day.

And even if she did say yes, there were so many other questions, too. Were they too young? What kind of jobs would they hold? What if they had a family? How would they continue being paladins? Did she even want kids? What if there was another threat in the universe? What if he lost her? What if she lost him?

The idea of it felt so overwhelming, so complicated, but then—

He heard her burst out laughing, and the anxiety melted away.

No, he decided, he'd stop this senseless worry. He'd ask her to be his because he didn't ever want anyone else. They could figure out all the other stuff as they went along, just like they had been doing.

Now he just had to figure out when to ask.


	14. Going Forward

**Author's Note: Hello again! So since season six just came out, I wanted you guys to know that I wrote this beforehand, and given some of the massive changes that took place, this fic is basically an AU now. I'm not changing any part of what I planned to write, but I thought I'd make a note about that.**

* * *

"—and so my fellow paladins—"

"Students, Katie."

"Quiznak, you're right. Ehem— and so my fellow students, as we go forward into the great unknown of the rest of our lives, we must…we must…crap, what is it again?"

"We must always keep in mind the greater picture," Lance filled in.

"Right," Katie nodded. "We must always keep in mind the greater picture. With the discovery of new civilizations in our universe, that picture will only keep expanding. As cadets—"

"Graduates," he corrected lightly.

"As graduates of the academy," she fixed, "It is our duty to come together to protect, guide, and be a light to our planet in these confusing times. With the fall of the Galra Empire, there is much work to still be done—"

Her boyfriend's nose scrunched up. "The fall? But it's still reigning."

Katie sighed and turned away from her mirror. "I know, but the UN has a whole new rule book on how we talk about intergalactic politics, and _apparently_ they haven't officially recognized Lotor as a peaceful ruler, yet."

Lance chuckled, getting up from her bed and walking over to rub her shoulders. "I'm sure he'll love hearing _that_ in the live stream," he joked. Katie stuck her tongue out. "Hopefully we can get them to see that he's good eventually," he encouraged. "Your speech sounds just fine, though. Why are you so worried about it?"

His _querida_ shrugged. "I want it to be good, Lance."

"It _is_ good, Katie," he said. He turned her around so he could tap her nose. "You need to have more faith in yourself. You're not going to mess up."

Groaning, Katie let her her head fall onto his chest. "Yeah, but you were helping me," she mumbled. "You even helped me write it, too."

He gave a little shrug. "So? I'm sure lots of people have help writing their valedictorian speeches."

Katie peeked up to give him an unconvinced look, to which he responded by pecking her on the lips. She gave a little moan when they parted. "I just wish you were up there with me," she admitted softly. "We do everything together, and it'll feel weird without you."

Lance wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back comfortingly. "Katie, you'll be fine. Just look for me in the crowd, okay? Besides, you almost have it memorized, and if you forget, you'll have your notecards, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I hate using them," she sighed.

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Pet peeve."

He gave a snort and pressed a kiss to her head. "You're adorable. Come on, now—" he prompted, easing her off his chest. "—you need to get your gown on."

Katie let out a huff, but went to her closet regardless. Lance went over to her dresser and picked her Voltron pin off the top. He hadn't been sure if they'd be allowed to wear them to graduation, but as Katie had so eloquently said, "screw it."

As he stared down at the pin, a nervous jolt of energy ran through his heart. After today, this wouldn't be the only symbol they had that connected them. That is, if everything went according to plan and she said yes.

…Dios, _please_ let her say yes.

Lance breathed on the pin and rubbed it against his gown, grinning when the pin gleamed. Katie stumbled out of her closet a moment later, and she walked up to him expectantly. He took the top of her gown in his hand and busied himself with attaching the pin.

"I guess this is it," he thought aloud. "Last day at the academy."

Katie tilted her head. "I thought you would've been more excited."

He gave a little laugh. "I am, but it's been fun, you know? It's the end of an era."

His girlfriend shook her head with an adoring smile. "You're so sentimental, Lance."

"It's why you like me," he winked, closing the clasp.

She grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his. "One of the reasons," she teased.

Overcome with emotion, Lance took her into his arms and held her tight. "I love you, Katie," he whispered. "I'm so happy I have you."

"I love you too, Lance," she replied softly. "There's no one else I'd rather be with."

His heart gave a happy jump (quiznak, if only she knew how much those words meant right now), and he made sure to give her another kiss on the head before he let her go.

She smiled at him brilliantly. "Shall we?"

Lance offered her his arm. "We shall!"

With that, the two set off down the hall. For a moment, Lance forgot about the anxiety that had been plaguing him all morning— that is, until he realized that his pocket was empty.

He felt his stomach drop. Quiznak, how had he forgotten the ring?!

Lance's heart was pounding, and his mind was racing, and they were still going merrily along the hall as though nothing was wrong. He screeched to a stop, so fast that Katie almost flew forward.

"Honey?" she questioned worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Lance blinked. "I-I forgot something in my room!" he claimed. "I just realized, a-and I have to go get it—"

Katie waved a hand, giggling. "Go get it, Lance. I'll see you in the line up, okay?"

Her understanding gaze made his anxiety begin to settle back down, and overwhelmed for the second time that day, he swooped down to capture her lips with his. She sighed into him, making him only redouble his passionate pursuit. All too quickly, though, she broke it off with a laugh.

"Lance, you only have ten minutes!" she said, shooing him away.

'But we have an eternity,' he thought dreamily.

Not to be deterred (and maybe to give his scatterbrained mind just a bit more time to think), he snuck in one more kiss. "Let's plan to meet at our picnic spot after graduation, okay?"

She nodded. "Okay."

There was a slight waver in her voice, and he gave her pin a little tap. "You're going to do excellent, Katie, I know it."

Katie gazed up at him adoringly. "I love you, Lance."

He pressed a quick kiss to her head. "I know," he teased. "Gotta go!" With that, he made a dash toward his room. When he arrived, he was practically bouncing on his feet as though the floor was molten lava. Through the door, falling to the ground, crawling over to his bed, pulling out a box, digging through the mess—

Lance let out a relieved breath when he saw the tiny box resting just where he'd left it. He opened it gently, taking in the ring with shining eyes. Today was the day. The day their future truly began. His heart swelled at the thought.

He shut the box and tucked it securely into his pocket. It was a little bulky, but he was sure the graduation gown covered it up. He got off the floor, dusted himself off, and ran back in the direction he'd come from.

When he reached the backstage of the main auditorium, his eyes started searching for his friends. He saw Hunk toward the middle of the line up, and a little ways after Katie. She waved at him brightly, then held up the notecards in her hand with a disgusted face.

He chuckled at her shenanigans before he blew her a kiss.

"You two really gotta cut it out with the being cute thing."

Lance's eyes were already rolling before he turned to the voice. "You're just jealous, Keith," he responded easily.

Keith grinned and crossed his arms. "Hardly. Charlotte and I are official now."

"There you go!" Lance cheered, giving Keith a slap on the back. "Took you long enough!"

The mullet head was blushing, but he had a dopey smile on, too. "Funny thing is, I always take everything else in life fast," he said thoughtfully, then shrugged. "Guess I just wanted to make sure I got this one right."

The little box in Lance's pocket suddenly felt heavy, and his anxiety spiked. "Y-Yeah, same with me and Katie, sort of," he replied quickly.

Keith quirked an eyebrow at the response, but anything he was about to say was cut off by a loud, "Get in line, everyone!"

The two men nodded at each other and walked away, Lance letting out a sigh as he did. It was so difficult to not give away his plan, especially around his fellow paladins— they knew him so well, they could read him like a book.

If he was completely honest, he didn't really care much about the graduation anyways. He wanted to listen to Katie's speech, of course (and she did amazing, by the way, as he knew she would), but all it seemed to be was a bunch of waiting. Waiting in line, waiting in a chair, waiting to walk up, waiting for your name to be called. In short, it was torture, but mainly because with each step they took closer to the ceremony being over, they took another step toward the moment that would change his life forever.

So maybe that's why when it was finally done, he could hardly believe it. They were asked to stand one final time, and it wasn't until people starting cheering and throwing their caps up into the air that he snapped out of the daze he'd been in.

And as soon as the now-graduates processed out of the auditorium, he ran.

* * *

All Katie wanted was Lance.

I mean, sure, maybe as the valedictorian she should've cared more about the traditions of the ceremony, but now that it was over, he was all she wanted.

Maybe it was because she wanted to hear him say that the speech went well. Maybe it was because she was overwhelmed with excitement. Maybe it was because she'd been anxious all day, and he was her place of refuge. Whatever the reason, she was running.

When she came around the last corner to their picnic spot, she saw a flash of a green and blue pin and a smile, and that was all the confirmation she needed before she launched herself into his arms. Lance was chuckling warmly, taking her up and spinning her around happily.

"I am so glad that's all over!" she laughed when he set her down. "I was so nervous all morning!"

Her boyfriend gave a wry grin. "No, really? You? Nervous?"

She punched him lightly in the arm. "Shut up," she giggled. His eyes were shining with amusement and love, and she just couldn't help herself, so she took his collar and pulled him down to meet his lips with hers.

He groaned into her mouth immediately, and she felt a flash of desire run through her. Usually he wasn't nearly as vocally responsive as this, so what caused the change? She just shrugged it off though, his soft lips chasing away any coherent thoughts about the subject.

When they parted, Katie sighed. "I missed you."

Lance snickered, "We were apart for two hours!"

"And they lasted ages!" she pouted, pecking him just once more. He was still laughing a bit, but she didn't care. "So, what did you want me out here for? You know our families are probably looking for us," she pointed out.

It was like her words flipped a switch. His usual charm and cheer were gone, replaced by a flustered expression and a raging blush. "O-Oh yes, about that," he stammered.

Katie smiled gently. "You're adorable when you're nervous, you know," she teased.

He ducked his head bashfully. "Yeah, I know," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "I just, um…can we walk a bit?"

She responded by intertwining their fingers and nodding. He gave her a tight smile, and then, they set off at a slow pace.

They walked in silence for a while. It was nice, honestly. The graduation ceremony had been so loud and crazy— it was relaxing to simply take in the grounds of the Garrison one last time.

After a few minutes had passed, Katie looked over at Lance. She could see it clear as day: there was a war in his eyes. His mouth was pulled into a frown, and he was staring down at the ground.

Concerned, she gave him a little nudge with her shoulder. "Everything okay, sweetheart?"

Lance startled. "Y-Yeah, sorry, lost in my thoughts," he stuttered. Katie ran her thumb in circles over his hand encouragingly, and his eyes met hers. "I-I guess, um…I was thinking over your speech."

She brightened. "Did it go well?"

Lance nodded quickly. "Of course it did! But, well, you know…you said all that stuff about this being the start of a new era in our lives, how it's like the beginning of our futures…" he trailed off. She noticed he swallowed hard before he continued. "…a-and I…I want that future to be together, with you."

Her heart filled with warmth, and she stopped them so she could lean up to kiss his cheek. "Why wouldn't it be?" she smiled. "I can't imagine you not being in my life."

A look of relief fell over him, and his tense shoulders dropped. "That's good to know," he laughed awkwardly, taking her hands in his. He took in a deep breath, then met her eyes.

"Katie, I, uh…quiznak, let me start over," he coughed, and she giggled. Whatever it could be that made him act like this, it had to be important to him. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to tell her about a job offer, if he was moving, or something else that would clearly be inconsequential to whether or not they stayed together.

But then he got down on one knee.

Her eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open.

"Katie, you know I've loved you for years," he started softly. "And all that time of wishing and hoping and dreaming…none of what I imagined even begins to compare to how wonderful actually being with you has been."

Her eyes were filling with tears, and she couldn't stop herself from covering her mouth with her hands when he reached for his pocket. When his hand returned, in it sat a tiny box.

She let out a little happy sob, and Lance smiled, reaching up with his spare hand to wipe away one of the tears that had fallen. He gazed at her gently, taking his time to caress her cheek, then twirl a lock of her hair around his finger.

"I…you know that I love you with all my heart," he whispered, and she nodded. "And…I think you feel the same way about me."

"Of course I do, you idiot," she choked out.

He gave her a lopsided grin before he continued. "You've given me the greatest gift of my entire life by loving me…so, Katherine Elizabeth Holt," he said, opening the box to reveal a glittering ring. "Will you marry me?"

Tears were clouding her vision so much she could hardly see him. All she registered was the fact that she nodded as quickly as she could.

"Is that a yes?" he teased, hope in his voice.

Overcome with joy, she threw herself forward and crashed her lips against his. "Yes, yes, yes," she mumbled through the kisses, "A thousand times yes!" she exclaimed, sealing her promise with a long, sweet kiss.

Lance sighed heavily, leaning in to touch their foreheads together. "Thank _Dios_ ," he breathed. Another tear fell from her eyes, and he was quick to wipe it away.

"I can't believe this," she laughed. "I mean, I thought you might at some point, but I just—" she was cut off by Lance holding the ring in front of her face.

His blue eyes were filled with indescribable happiness. "May I?"

Without hesitation, Katie nodded. She watched in a daze as he took the ring and slipped it onto her finger. It was simple: just a white gold band and a single diamond at the top, but it was perfect. She admired it in the sunlight, watching as it threw specks of sunlight onto her boyfriend's— no, her _fiancé's_ face.

Lance's adoring eyes caught hers, and her heart swelled. He gently took her face in his hands and pressed his lips against hers. She hummed happily against his mouth, and he returned the contented sound.

"We're getting married," he whispered when they parted. "We're getting _married_."

Katie giggled and leaned in to give him yet another kiss, but then a thought hit her like a train. "Crap, we have to plan a wedding," she realized in horror.

Lance blinked, and then he groaned. " _And_ we have to tell everyone we're engaged."

The happy couple shared a worried look. "…quiznak."

* * *

"Okay, so we just sneak in—"

"Katie, there is no sneaking in with that ring. They'll notice it immediately."

"Okay, then we just avoid them."

"I thought you wanted to tell them as soon as possible!"

"Yeah, but you know everyone's going to freak out and make a scene."

Lance took her left hand and made a point of kissing the ring. "Right, like we're not used to making a scene wherever we go," he joked. "It's not like we pilot giant mechanical robots or something."

His fiancée rolled her eyes. "Lance—"

"Mrs. McClain—to—be," he chimed cheerfully.

Her faux-annoyed expression melted into one of adoration. "Do you really want to announce it now? People might be busy with their families still."

Lance's smirk softened. "If you don't want to yet, that's fine. But the sooner the better, in my opinion. You know how mad they'll get if they find out we're hiding our relationship from them again."

Katie cringed. "Yeah…on second thought, you're right. Let's get it over with."

He snickered. "Wow, with an attitude like that, you'd think you wouldn't want to marry me!"

As if to prove him wrong, she pulled him down for what had to be their hundredth kiss that hour. "You know the truth is exactly the opposite," she stated when they separated.

Lance hummed and kissed her forehead. "I'm a lucky man," he sighed.

Katie smiled brightly at him. "And I'm very lucky, too. There's no one else I'd rather be stuck with for an eternity," she teased.

"OH MY GOODNESS!"

The couple jumped at the shout, turning on a dime. Katie's mother was rushing toward them, her eyes glued to the ring on Katie's hand. She grabbed the two in a hug before they could protest.

"I'm so glad he finally proposed!" she exclaimed. She let them go and gave Lance a pretend stern look. "He asked for my permission months ago— I was starting to worry he'd changed his mind!"

Lance simply shook his head. "Never, Mrs. Holt. I promised you I'd always be there for her, and I intend on keeping that promise."

Katie stared up at him in wonder. "You…you asked my mom?"

He tilted his head to look down at her. "And Matt, of course. I know family's important to you, _querida_."

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, her mother had let out another squeak. "Oh, this is so exciting, Katie! We have to start planning the wedding now, maybe we can have it ready by fall—"

"Did someone say wedding?!"

The three turned around to see Hunk rushing toward them, leaving his family in the dust. He screeched to a stop and started inspecting the pair. It didn't take him long, but needless to say, Hunk was in tears the second he spotted the ring.

"I knew it, I knew it was going to happen soon!" he blubbered, then started to bounce back and forth on his feet. "Can I make the cake? Please, please, please?"

"Wait, what's going on?"

Now the group turned again, this time catching Shiro staring at them with a confused expression. Matt and Allura were by his side, both wearing a similar look on their faces. Lance snickered when Katie rolled her eyes and simply held up her left hand.

Shiro's face lit up. "Wait, you guys are—?"

"It's about time!" Matt cut in with a hearty slap to Lance's back. "I gave you her ring size decapheebs ago!"

Allura's head tilted. "I do not understand," she frowned. "What is the significance of this jewel?"

Shiro chuckled, crossing his arms fondly. "It means, Princess, that Lance has asked Pidge to marry him. It is the greatest show of love that humans can give to each other."

The princess smiled widely at the explanation, then clapped her hands together. "Oh, wonderful! We'll have to tell Lotor immediately— I'm sure he'd be thrilled to hear that your courtship has been a success!"

Lance didn't miss the way that Matt's face fell when the princess mentioned Lotor— it had been no surprise that the strange intergalactic love triangle had been rather strained lately.

Katie sensed the sudden awkwardness and covered it gracefully with a smile. "Thank you, Allura. I think both of us are very excited to—"

"Excited for what?"

For the fourth time, everyone's heads turned. Keith was standing there stoically, his arm around the young woman at his side. She had tanned skin and a head full of golden curls, and Lance immediately recognized her from Keith's long winded descriptions.

She was smiling brightly, and it struck Lance when looking at them how night and day they seemed. But then she leaned over and whispered something in Keith's ear, and he cracked a large smile.

"Oh, this is Charlotte, by the way," he introduced.

Charlotte let out a snort. "Smooth, Keith. And congratulations," she added on genuinely, nodding toward Katie's ring.

Keith raised a confused eyebrow. "Congratulations? For what?"

Lance could hardly contain his laughter as Katie huffed, stomped forward, and shoved the ring in front of Keith's eyes. He blinked, then smiled knowingly at Lance.

"I knew you were acting weird earlier," Keith claimed.

"Come to think of it, he's been acting weird for a month or two now," Hunk hummed thoughtfully.

Matt scoffed, "Oh please, it's been longer than that. He started talking to us about it way back in January."

Katie sent Lance a questioning look, and his bashful laugh confirmed that this was true. "I mean, technically, I've been thinking about it for years, but you know…" he mumbled.

His fiancée just giggled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Let me guess— you already have the color scheme for the wedding planned, too?"

Lance cast her a cheeky grin. "I would've thought that was obvious," he teased, tapping the Voltron pin on her gown.

Katie smiled. "Very true, Mr. Fiancé."

The couple was caught up in their own little world again, but it was quickly shattered by the sound of Charlotte loudly whispering to Keith, "They're so cute!"

Keith snorted, and everyone burst out laughing.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Wow, another author's note? How strange. This one is to let you know that if you have watched season six, I uploaded two short, fluffy one-shots based on it. One is Pidge x Lance, the other is Keith x Romelle. Hope you enjoy if you decide to read them!**


	15. Having You

If Lance thought that waiting all those years to marry Katie felt long, then the months leading up to the wedding lasted decapheebs. And Katie had to agree with him, if her groans every time someone mentioned a new detail were anything to go by.

If the couple was honest (and they were, to an almost unfathomable degree), they really just wanted to elope. They didn't care for all of the fanfare and the celebration— they just wanted each other.

But no one else was having it.

"You can't just elope!"

"I've been working on my cake recipe for ages!"

"We already have the decorations planned!"

"Finding a dress won't be that hard!"

Weirdly enough, Lotor was the worst one when it came to planning the affair. The second he'd heard about it from Allura, the emperor had sprung into action, gathering leaders from each of his empire's planets and declaring a special holiday for the event. He was involved in every single detail, from the location (the Castle of Lions, of course), to the meal (which he for some reasons felt the need to hire a minimum of twenty chefs for), to the ceremony (a mix of Altean and Earth inspirations).

The planning meetings never seemed to end. There was always something to be discussed: the guest list, invitations, and seating chart alone took over a week for everyone to agree on.

After a debacle over how ginormous Lotor insisted the cake must be, the couple was ready to call it quits. It took some scheming, but Lance and Katie finally managed to sneak away for one of the few stolen moments they had alone these days.

"Are you—" kiss "—sure that—" kiss "—we can't just—" kiss "—leave?" Katie panted.

Her fiancé let out a frustrated groan against her lips. "You know I want to," he mumbled.

Katie sighed long sufferingly. "I know, me too," she admitted. "Did you hear about what's going on next week?"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Something about the UN freaking out over a bunch of aliens coming to a party in a castle parked in Wisconsin? Yeah, Lotor might have mentioned it."

She shook her head. "It's ridiculous. Only _we_ could have a wedding where the governments of the world have to get involved."

His eyes serious, Lance cupped her face in his hands. " _Querida_ , do you want this wedding or not?" he asked. "If you really don't, then I'll handle it, and we can go get married whenever you want."

Katie hesitated. "I…it's complicated," she swallowed. Her eyes flickered up to meet his, and she smoothed his cheek with her thumb. "I want to marry you obviously," she stated, and he laughed. "And I have always wanted a wedding, but…this is all too much."

Lance nodded. "I agree. Do you want me to talk to Allura about it?" he offered. "I have the feeling she's the only one who can stop Lotor from going berserk."

"I think he already has," she muttered darkly.

Lance chuckled, then captured her lips with his. "Just remember, it's our wedding, okay? We get the final say in what happens."

A weight seemed to lift off her shoulders, and Katie smiled.

* * *

The conversation— though slightly agonizing— didn't go as bad as Lance imagined. With the help of Shiro's detailed explanations, Lotor seemed to understand why Lance and Katie wanted to have more control over their wedding as opposed to having it done for them.

"I will step down from my position in this event," he conceded, then paused. "…on one condition. It must be within plain view of the empire. A symbol of love and trust, especially between their heroes, cannot be covered up. It connects us, binds us together as a new people."

Lance hesitated. "So…cameras, then?"

Lotor nodded. "And the top representative from each planet. To not do so would be an insult."

Shiro and Lance traded a look, and the married-man-to-be sighed. "Fine, it's a deal," he said, shaking Lotor's hand.

After that, the couple had to admit that things started to go much smoother. The planning didn't take over their lives any more, and it was actually quite enjoyable to imagine how it would all be.

Sure, there were still some crazy moments. Lance could recall the day Katie bought her dress like it was yesterday. Why? Because everyone had freaked out the second he stepped foot in the castle.

"You cannot be here!" Allura shouted, blocking the door to Katie's room defensively. "I have been told that it must be kept a secret!"

"Yeah, you really want it to be kept a surprise, trust me," Charlotte winked.

Completely stumped, Lance slumped off to his room. He'd been gone for several days on an outreach mission to a new planet, and all he'd wanted was to see his fiancée when he returned. Rest assured, though, Katie found her way to his room as soon as the dress was locked away securely.

But then, after months of planning and waiting and stressing…it was here.

They were both giddy with excitement, and the thrill was only intensified by the fact that everyone was insistent upon keeping them apart until Katie walked down the aisle. Thus, Lance was in his room getting ready with Keith, Hunk, and Shiro, trying to beat down his nerves as best as he could.

It sucked, because he just wanted Katie, but he knew that if he dared to go down to the princess' room (the chosen place for bridal preparations due to the sheer size of the space), there would be a riot.

To be fair, Katie wasn't doing much better herself. Every waking moment, her mind drifted to Lance. Her mother was flitting about anxiously, Coran was grabbing whatever they asked for, Allura was busy doing Katie's hair and makeup, and Charlotte was off to the side photographing the entire thing.

Lance, Lance, Lance; that was all Katie could think about. She supposed that maybe she should be nervous— she'd heard about some women getting cold feet on their wedding day. But she was far from anywhere near such a feeling. She wanted to see her fiancé, kiss him until they were out of breath, and run away to whatever planet Lance had chosen for their honeymoon.

It seemed as though their lions sensed their distress, because at the exact same time, both Lance and Katie felt a familiar door open up at the back of their minds.

 _Wait…Katie? Is that you?_

 _Lance! Oh thank quiznak, I was about to die without you._

 _Wow, you're starting to sound as dramatic as me! I must be rubbing off on you._

 _Clearly. I hate being separated._

 _I know, me too._

 _I miss you._

 _I miss you, too, querida._

 _How much longer?_

 _One more hour, I think._

 _Can't we just leave?_

 _I suggested that three months ago!_

 _And I should've listened. By the way, where are we going for our honeymoon?_

 _It's a secret!_

 _Laaaaaance._

 _Katieeeeeee._

 _You drive me crazy._

 _You drive me crazier._

 _We drive each other crazy._

 _In the best way possible!_

 _True. Maybe we should just go ahead and do our vows now to get it over with?_

 _Okay. Four score and seven years ago, I fell in love with Katie Holt—_

Katie burst out laughing, and everyone's heads lifted.

"Are you alright?" Allura asked worriedly.

The bride-to-be waved a hand. "I'm fine, just remembered a joke Lance told me yesterday."

Coran raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and got back to handing Allura a hair pin. "At least you're back in this world now," he commented. "You were quite out of it for a few minutes."

"I can't imagine why," Mrs. Holt hummed. "It's not like this is the biggest day of her life or anything! I know I daydreamed a lot on my wedding day."

 _You still there, querida?_

Katie had to fight down a grin. It was hard to act natural with Lance practically poking at her mind. "Yeah, I'm just daydreaming," she agreed.

"Well don't daydream too long!" Allura said. "It's time to put on your dress!"

Katie nodded, then briefly closed her eyes.

 _I gotta go, sweetheart— see you soon._

 _I love you! And I can't wait to see you._

 _I love you, too. I hope time speeds up._

 _Me too._

She opened her eyes to see the assuming looks of her company. "What?" she asked innocently.

Charlotte just shook her head and snapped another picture. "What I'd give to have a telepathic connection with Keith," she lamented.

Katie snickered. "Oh please, it's only when the lions open it for us. They probably sensed that we were upset."

Mrs. Holt frowned. "Do you really miss him that much? You two could do a first look if you want— I know some couples do that these days."

"We'll survive, don't worry," Katie reassured her. "And besides, I want to see his face when I walk down the aisle."

"Oh trust me—" Charlotte grinned, holding up her camera, "I'm gonna capture the exact moment he sees you. I'll mostly be filming just you two, not the crowd."

Suddenly, Katie felt overwhelmed. _The crowd._ Quiznak, how had she forgotten that? They'd be surrounded by strangers and delegates from foreign planets and a whole bunch of people she didn't really know, and what if she messed up? What if she forgot her vow? What if she stuttered or tripped? What if—

Lance, who had thus far been doing a good job at keeping his anxiety down, felt a strong surge of it begin to creep in. The weird thing was, it wasn't from him…oh no, that meant—

 _Katie?_

 _Yes?_

 _You're not okay. I can feel it._

 _It's the crowd._

Ah, that made sense. She'd never been entirely happy with the arrangement, and he knew how her social anxiety could sometimes take over when she felt overwhelmed.

 _Querida, this day is about you and me. Forget them— this is our wedding, okay?_

 _I love you, Lance._

 _And I love you, Katie._

The sickening worry began to fade away, and Lance let out a relieved sigh.

"You two tele-communicating again?" Hunk questioned.

"Yeah," Lance smiled. "She's nervous about all the guests."

Keith scoffed. "Honestly, it's ridiculous. We should've found a way to have your wedding private, not broadcasted to the entire universe."

"Trust me, with Lotor involved, we got off easy," Shiro said. "Besides, it's not so bad. Only the ceremony will be streamed."

Lance gave a shrug, getting up from his bed and checking his bow tie for the millionth time. Honestly, getting ready for this whole event took so little time, and he hated just waiting around forever. He glanced at his packed bags by the door, then gave them the third check over in the past fifteen minutes alone.

"So where are you taking her?" Hunk prodded. "Come on, you gotta let us know in case something goes wrong!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "Nothing's going to go wrong, Hunk."

"I don't know," Shiro hummed contemplatively. "He makes a good point. It is always good to let trusted contacts know what your travel plans are in case of an emergency."

"You're just being nosy!" Lance claimed.

Shrio shrugged. "Maybe."

"Completely," Keith added on. "What's the big deal anyways? It's just a vacation. You two have made plenty of trips before."

The group of men stared at him, dumbfounded.

"What?" Keith asked.

Hunk shook his head. "Just tell us, Lance. We all want to know."

Lance felt a warmth spread through him. "I'm talking her to Olkarion," he admitted. "It's the first place that I really began to notice her, and how beautiful she was, and—" his face began to redden, "—the people there really like her, so they have a little house on the edge of the forest set up for us and everything."

The soon-to-be-husband looked up from the floor to see his friends staring at him with wide eyes.

He stuttered, "I-I mean, it's cheesy, I know—"

"It's so cute!" Hunk squealed. "That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard in my entire life!"

"Good choice, Lance," Shiro nodded.

"Yeah seriously, how am I gonna live up to that one day," Keith muttered.

Lance laughed awkwardly. "I just hope she likes it."

"She will," Shiro assured.

"Definitely!" Hunk said.

"I mean…probably?" Keith thought aloud, and now, everyone rolled their eyes fondly. Charlotte had worked miracles to soften him up some, but he was still their lovable, socially awkward Keith.

A knock on the door alerted the entire crew, and Lance swallowed nervously. "Guess it's time to go, then."

He focused on Katie's energy flowing through his mind the entire time he walked down to the grand hall of the castle. She was feeling multiple things at once— anxiety, excitement, joy, and occasionally a twinge of sadness whenever she thought of her father. Lance sent as much love as he could, and she would send a silent "thank you" in return.

Katie often wondered how her future husband knew her almost better than herself, but she didn't question it. Matt and her mother were at her sides hugging her now as she stood in her newly donned wedding dress, and the family shared a brief moment of grief together.

"Your dad talked about this day all the time," her mother sniffed. "I wish he could be here to witness it himself."

Matt gave them a smile. "I'm sure he's watching over us. You ready to go, Pidge?"

After taking in a deep breath, she nodded. Katie looped her arm through her brother's and began the trek down to the grand hall, all the while being conscious not to trip over her dress. She glanced down at the green and blue ribbon tied around her waist, and her heart warmed.

 _I'm on my way down, sweetheart._

 _I can't wait to see you._

 _If you don't cry, I'm walking out and then walking back in again._

Lance burst out laughing, and the pastor beside him gave a funny look. "Are you alright, Mr. McClain?"

Lance turned his snickers into a grin. "Of course; it's the most important day of my life!"

The pastor nodded. "Indeed, it is. Are you ready to enter?"

Suddenly, Lance felt a weight drop on his shoulders. Through those doors were who knows how many people, all of them waiting and staring and judging and—

 _Calm down, Lance, you're freaking me out._

 _Oops, sorry._

Lance summoned all his courage. "Let's do this."

A signal was given, and two Galran guards opened the door. The music started playing. He froze.

 _You can do it, sweetheart._

Lance began his walk down the aisle. It lasted seemingly forever, and he used practically all the willpower he possessed to not focus on the absolutely massive crowd that stood on either side of him.

He came to stand resolutely by the pastor, then waved happily at his parents and Katie's mother on the first row. They smiled back, and he felt a sense of peace come over him. He was so thankful he'd insisted that his family be right at the front where he could see them.

A new song began to play, and the procession continued. Each of the paladins— excluding Katie, of course— made their way down the aisle in a line. They were dressed in typical wedding attire, with the exception of the silken sashes across their chests, each colored according to their lions.

Shiro, Hunk, and Keith came to stand by Lance, and Allura stood off to the side where Katie would be. Speaking of which—

The song was transitioning again. Lance felt like his heart was about to pound out of his chest.

 _Querida?_

 _Yes, Lance?_

 _I already feel like crying._

 _I know the feeling._

He let out a tiny, tearful laugh, and that's when the doors opened for the final time.

Katie looked up. All of his breath left his lungs.

She felt nervous from head to toe. She couldn't recall walking down the aisle— it felt more like floating, with Matt at her side all the while. Lance looked like he was frozen, his mouth dropped open in awe.

When she got closer, she could see that there were tears in his eyes. Without a second thought, she released her hold on Matt's arm and came forward to wipe her future husband's tears away.

"You okay?" she whispered.

He gave her a watery smile. "I'm the luckiest man alive," he replied softly.

The pastor cleared his throat, and the couple snapped back to reality. He chuckled. "Who gives away this woman?" he asked.

Matt straightened up. "Her loving family."

Katie cast him a fond smile, and the pastor nodded. "Thank you. Please be seated. Loved ones, we are gathered here today to honor the bonds of love that bring us all together—"

 _You look beautiful._

 _You look great, too. I missed you._

 _I want to kiss you._

 _Me too._

 _Do you think they'd care?_

 _Probably. Are you even listening to what he's saying?_

 _Not at all— you?_

 _Nope._

 _I can't wait to be with you forever._

 _I can't wait until we can get out of here._

The couple stifled a giggle. They stared into each other's eyes longingly, and Lance reached out to tuck one of her curls behind her ear. Katie smoothed a hand over his pocket square— blue and green, just like they'd picked out. He sighed happily.

"—and now, it is time for the vows."

Lance's eyes widened comically, and Katie grinned.

He cleared his throat, then took her hands in his, blue eyes gazing lovingly into honey ones. "Katie, you have entrusted me with your heart. Therefore, I promise to always love you, always protect you, and always be your best friend. I'll be the first to apologize when we fight, the first to say good morning to you every day, and the only to walk with you for the rest of our lives."

Lance glanced over his shoulder, and Hunk handed him the ring. "With this ring," he continued solemnly, sliding it onto her finger, "I give my entire self to you. I am yours, and yours alone."

Katie smiled up at him. "Lance," she started, laughing when his eyes lit up.

"Go on," he teased.

She smothered her laughter and grinned adoringly. "Lance, you have entrusted me with your heart. Therefore, I promise to always love you, always protect you, and always be your best friend. I'll be the first to cheer you up when you're sad, the first to be there when you need me, and the only to walk with you for the rest of our lives."

His eyes were filling with tears again, and they began to spill over when Allura handed her the ring. "With this ring, I give my entire self to you," she promised as she slid the matching ring onto his finger. "I am yours, and yours alone. I love you, Lance."

Lance laughed tearfully. "I love you, too, Katie."

The pastor smiled. "You may now kiss the bride."

They didn't even hear the cheers when their lips met. They just sighed happily as they melted into each other.

 _Finally._

 _It's about time._

"I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Lance Elijah McClain!"

They broke apart, eyes shining. Lance couldn't hold back his smile, especially when he heard his friends shouting joyfully. "Shall we go, wife?" he asked.

She looped her arm through his. "We shall, husband."

They processed back down the aisle in a happy daze, and Katie wasn't surprised that the second the doors shut behind them, Lance took off running.

"Where are we going?" she laughed.

He didn't even answer, and he didn't have to— a few moments later, he pulled her around a corner and crashed his lips into hers. Katie moaned, especially when she felt his fingers clinging desperately onto her waist. He lavished her mouth with passion and adoration, and when he finally pulled back, they were panting for air.

"You look _beautiful_ ," he breathed.

"You already said that," Katie giggled.

Lance grinned. "Not out loud, I didn't." They laughed, and he smiled dreamily, resting his forehead against hers. "Katie McClain," he whispered. " _Dios_ , it finally happened. You're really mine."

She grabbed his face and pressed her lips against his. "And you're mine," she promised.

* * *

 **Hooray! They're married! Stay tuned for an epilogue!**


	16. Epilogue

Katie McClain was the happiest woman in the universe, and that was simply a fact. She was particularly happy this morning, and as for why, well, she couldn't quite tell anyone yet.

She knew two things, though: her two year anniversary trip had been three weeks ago, and the evidence was stacking up.

She knew she was late. She knew she'd been having nausea in the morning. She knew that she felt positively giddy with excitement. She knew that something felt different inside her.

All Katie needed was a test, and she'd taken that a week ago.

It had been positive.

But she couldn't tell anyone now— they were about to go on a mission, and she knew how ridiculously overprotective everyone was. No, it was best to wait to tell everyone, especially Lance. The second he knew would be the second she was off the team for nine months, and she didn't want that quite yet.

Besides, it was just a peace mission to check up on one of their usual planets. It should be relatively calm— maybe she could find a quiet moment to pull him aside and tell him.

Katie hummed contentedly, her ringed hand subconsciously stroking her stomach as she tinkered with a new code on her laptop.

 _You have been better than usual lately, my paladin. What causes this?_

The paladin grinned up at her lion. "Green, I'm just fine, I promise."

 _If you are certain, but I would like to scan you. I am worried, my paladin._

Katie was quick to nod, but then froze. "Wait, no, don't scan me—!"

It was too late. A bright yellow light had shined over her, and Green let out a loud roar.

 _My paladin! You are creating life! You cannot go on mission! It is too dangerous!_

"Shh! Quiet down, quiet down!" Katie hissed. "Calm down or Lance will sense your emotions!"

 _But my paladin, we must tell your mate! He must know the good news!_

She groaned and rubbed her temples. "You can't tell him yet, girl."

"Tell me what?"

Katie jumped and twirled around. Her handsome husband was making his way toward her, smiling brightly as always.

She leaned up and kissed Lance on the cheek. "Oh nothing, just girl stuff," she brushed off. "Ready to get going?"

"If you are," he replied easily. "Red's waiting for me in the hangar, but you know me— I always wanna check on my best girl," he said, leaning down to kiss her firmly.

Katie hummed into the kiss, then broke it. "I'll see you out there, okay?"

Lance nodded, turned to leave, but then came back to kiss her forehead. "I love you," he reminded her adoringly. "Do you ever just— quiznak, I don't even know, but I feel so happy lately? Like there's something in the air, I just know it!"

Her heart skipped a beat, but she managed a convincing smile. "I'm always happy with you, silly. But hey, maybe you'll figure out what it is soon!"

"I hope so," he chuckled. "It's been driving me crazy."

Green gave a low purr, and Katie waved a hand behind her back.

 _Now is not the time to tell him!_

Green growled.

Lance opened his mouth to ask about the noise, but their coms crackled to life.

"Everyone in their lions?" Shiro asked.

"In a sec!" Lance called. He gave Katie one last kiss on her cheek, then dashed off to Red's hangar. She nearly fell over with relief. She should've known that Lance would start to suspect something, but she hadn't expected it so quickly.

Katie glared up at her lion. "If you dare tell him—"

 _What will you do?_

Her eyes narrowed. "Green, I swear, if you—"

A yellow light flashed over her body for the second time, and Green's eyes lit up.

 _Scan sent to Red._

"What?!" Katie cried.

 _You have thirty ticks before he receives and understands the data._

The green paladin scrambled into her lion's cockpit, all the while saying insults and threats through clenched teeth.

"Everyone ready for launch?" Keith asked over the coms.

"Ready!" Katie replied quickly. The others took their time responding, and she lined her lion up for the quickest takeoff possible. She'd have to be fast so they couldn't stop her.

"Come on, come on," she muttered, anxiously tapping her foot.

 _My paladin, he will be happy._

Katie stilled. Wait…her lion was right. Why wouldn't Lance be happy? The two had talked about kids before, they just hadn't planned for it to be so soon. But he had always rambled on and on about how excited he would be for a family, so why would that have changed?

Suddenly, an evil idea came into mind. "Green, patch me through to Red."

Her lion gave an amused rumble before she did so.

When the screen came up, Lance was intently looking at something on his monitor. "Hey! Sorry, I was just reading your message, give me a sec."

Katie stopped herself from grinning deviously. "Yeah, take your time."

Keith came onto the coms again. "Lions are go, in five…four…three…two…one—"

"Wait, **_what?!_** " Lance shrieked.

Keith's face flashed onto her screen. "Is something wrong, you guys?"

Katie held back her laughter as she watched Lance's eyes scan the information again. "Wait, hold on, wha— how?!" he yelled. "Is this— did we—" his wide blue eyes turned to look at her through the video feed. "Katie, are you pregnant?!"

"Hold up, what?" Keith cut in. "Are you serious?"

"Call the mission off!" Hunk cried. "She can't go out there!"

"What does this mean?" Allura questioned.

Shiro stammered, "W-Wait, Pidge, are you actually—?"

Katie cackled and punched Green into overdrive. "Come on, you guys, we've got a mission to accomplish!"

"STOP HER!" Lance shouted. She was already in hyperdrive.

Needless to say, the moment they arrived on the planet, Lance was all over her crying happy tears.

 _The End._

* * *

 **Thank you guys for joining me on this journey! And to any artists out there- I'd love to work with someone on getting some fanart of this story out, so message me if you're interested!**


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